


Wingardium Leviosa

by AWritersJourney



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: All the apples, Apples, Auror Harry Potter, Baby Scorpius Malfoy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drarry, FanFiction.Net, Healer Hermione Granger, How Do I Tag, M/M, Medical Conditions, Medical Trauma, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, dont forget perry the unicorn, reposting from fanfiction, this fic is 10 years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 123,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWritersJourney/pseuds/AWritersJourney
Summary: When Harry runs across a very ill Scorpius Malfoy and his rather exhausted, rather attractive father, neither knew it would lead to pushing back a looming death date or involve a lot of life, love, a unicorn and plenty of apples.(This is a repost from FF by one of the original authors.)
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 28
Kudos: 132





	1. Blushing Golden

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. Hello. “Becoming-Obsessed” here. So it’s been close to ten years since I’ve touched a doc. Let me start by saying I’ve never stopped reading fanfiction, but I sure as hell haven’t written anything in the last almost-decade. It’s been brought to my attention a few times over the last ten years that WL deserved a rebirth, so I figured it’s better late than never to reintroduce this fic to the world, so Wingardium Leviosa has finally been copied over from FF for your viewing pleasure.
> 
> I’d like to thank all those who still read WL to this day and continue to comment and recommend it. I’ve checked in on WL a couple times and it’s heartwarming to know a piece I co-wrote at a completely different and much darker time in my life still holds virtue to so many of you.
> 
> Fast forward to the now- this fic has not been edited. Nor will it be. I’ve taken out the headers to make it more concise, but nothing contextually has been changed. Also- reposting Wingardium Leviosa does not mean myself, or the other co-author will be returning to finish the sequel, Aresto Momentum. AM is, and will remain, Incomplete.
> 
> It’s been ten years. At the time of posting this, WL has generated over 600,000 views, which is absolutely mind-boggling. I was fourteen when this fic reached completion (and only had 64.5k views). Am I proud of it? Of course. Do I still love the “ship?” Yes, I do. But my style and tastes as a reader, and maybe even as an author, have shifted drastically, so I ask that if you do wish to review this work in a negative light, please do so with a grain of salt. The world of fanfiction has shifted exponentially since WL was brought to the internet for the first time and I hold a small hope that it will still be cared for as it has been all these years later. 
> 
> So without further ado, enjoy.
> 
> -Formerly,  
> Becoming-Obsessed.

Chapter 1

_Blushing Golden_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

  
  


Harry didn't have breaks often, didn't like to take them. Most liked to say that he enjoyed his job a little too much, but that wasn't a very big concern for the man. He'd learned years ago not to heed the words of others. They were often biased, entirely incorrect, or just skewed enough to cause confusion. Yes, he enjoyed his job. Was it too much? That was a matter of opinion, which was as unreliable as Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill had been when he'd been a confused, angry boy in a tournament.

He glanced towards the park he passed on his way to and from the coffee shop he liked to frequent and paused a moment to watch the children play. There were peals of laughter, short shrieks of delight. Harry felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, so let it spread until he was grinning. Okay, so maybe breaks from work weren't such a bad thing if they gave him time to watch a bunch of kids and just smile... Even if he looked a little creepy standing a distance from a park with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

But then his gaze was caught by a beautiful little blonde boy. He seemed incredibly small, even from his distance, and a bright blue scarf was wrapped around his neck even though it was the middle of August and almost unbearably hot. As Harry watched him glide back and forth on a swing set he began to take in the boy's surroundings and started to walk forward, a frown replacing the smile. He could see it in his mind's eye and wanted to be there in time to stop- damn.

The two that had been sneaking up behind him made their attack, jumping at him with terrifying grunts. The little child tumbled from the swing in his haste to try and get away, crying out as he landed. The two children ran off, but the frail looking blonde didn't seem to be moving. Harry focused on him, taking the last few yards and sitting beside him. "Hey," he said quietly, gently lifting the boy into his lap. He weighed almost nothing and Harry felt a pang of sympathy, another one stabbing at him when he saw that the fall had left his nose bleeding. "Hey, there," Harry whispered. "You're alright. Here we are." He lifted his wand and the boy gazed at him with wide, silver eyes that were eerily familiar. "Episkey," he cast and the boy winced as his nose was fixed.

-

Draco gave a small sigh, running a hand over his face that was sallow with exhaustion. The blonde allowed his gaze to flicker around the park with a small pang of something keen to longing deep in his chest. Draco Malfoy, once an esteemed (and slightly feared) name, he continued to tell himself as he uncrossed his arms from around his chest - now a single father to an adorable, rambunctious little five year old. The blonde wouldn't have it any other way.

He sat up, his gazing searching around for a shock of blonde hair, dread quickly filling like liquid lead in his stomach when his eyes couldn't seem to pick out the blonde hair from the swarms of children playing around. His mind instantly began running rampant, thoughts filling his head - almost consuming him as he stood to walk around the parameter of the park, a small messenger bag being slung over his shoulder in the process.

Walking past the slides, teeter-totter, and even the sand pit (his little five year old hated the damn thing), Draco still had not found his own little shock of blonde hair. His heart was quickly exploding in his chest, his grip tightening against the weathered brown strap of his messenger bag. A bright flash of blonde had Draco jerking his head around, a small hiss escaping his lips at the flash of pain.

"Loser!" he heard the call from across the park, two bulky boys no more than the age of seven approached the swings with their fists clenched. Draco couldn't tell what was going to happen, but as he saw a small glimpse of platinum blonde hair from between the two, he knew it couldn't be good. He rushed forward just as his little baby boy was pushed to the ground. "Scorpius!" he gasped.

-

Harry looked up as footsteps neared and felt something in his world shift. Draco bloody Malfoy. He looked down at the boy still in his lap and the frown tugged at his lips. He should've realized... It was almost like looking at a clone. A rather small, too-light one, but a clone nonetheless. Godric, was Draco even feeding the boy?

He stood, cradling the child in his arms as Draco drew nearer. "Malfoy?"

Draco froze, slate grey eyes wide as his mouth seem to run dry. Out of all the people that could of picked his child up, it had to be saint Potter, of course. They hadn't seen each other in years, what was the brunette doing here? "P-Potter?" He stood up taller, a glare coming to his face before it fell, almost immediately, to a look of worry when his eyes locked on to his son cradled in the brunette's arms. He rushed forward. "Scorpius!" He gasped in relief, arms coming out to tug the boy against his chest, his fingers stroking through soft blonde locks as the little boy glanced up at him, wiping the little dribble of blood from his nose with the back of his sleeves.

"Hi, daddy!"

Harry blew out a breath, tucking his wand back up his sleeve. That hadn't been the outcry of an abused or neglected child; he'd been legitimately happy to see his father. "A couple of boys pushed him. You saw it happen?"

Draco nodded, cuddling Scorpius to his chest for a few seconds before he kneeled down, setting the boy on his feet gently. Draco adjusted the little boys scarf and re-zipped his jacket before giving a quick peck to his forehead. 'Nothing happened, it was all okay,' Draco continually told himself as he gathered Scorpius back in to his arms, his heart giving a small lurch as the little boy's fingers curled against his simple, black long-sleeved shirt.

"Let's get you some food, okay, Scorp?"

"Okay, daddy!" Scorpius's grin was wide on his face, his pale complexion warm with a small flush of exertion. "Apples?" the little blonde smiled up at him as if the world didn't cast him away, as if he had no worries.

Draco gave a small chuckle. "Of course, Scorp. Apples." He stood up fully, intent on leaving the park and not looking back for fear of hexing the boys who pushed Scorpius down before he paused. Potter. Shite.

Said auror had watched the exchange with interest. He was clearly missing something here. A brow arching, he gave a meaningful look at Scorpius and back up to Draco, quietly asking just what was happening. He'd pegged the child at no more than four, yet he didn't seem quite that young when he spoke. So why was he so small?

"Well... ahem." Draco cleared his throat, his light blonde hair falling in to his eyes as he tried to readjust the bag gripping around his neck, and the little child fidgeting in his arms. He set Scorpius down, opting to take his hand instead. The little hand was littered in bright colored band-aids. "Thank you for helping Scorpius, but we really must be going." His voice was curt. Draco refused to admit to himself that Potter looked well... good. He had more important things to worry about then rekindling some sort of estranged friendship that never even existed.

Harry frowned, but there was more than one way to get the information he wanted. "There's a little cafe nearby that I was just on my way to." He turned a warm smile on the child. "If you'd like to join me for lunch," he offered.

Draco gave a small start at the offer, looking down at Scorpius who gazed back up at his father with wide, pleading eyes, his lower lip quivering. "Please daddy? The nice auro-ro-" Scorpius stuttered over the word, catching his tongue as he tried to pronounce it. "Wizard-man saved me!"

His father couldn't help but laugh at that, giving a quick nod of his head. "Okay, Potter. Since Scorpius agrees, why not?" What more dignity do I have to lose? "Lead the way." He hoped the cheers of happiness from Scorpius made this worth it. Why did Harry bloody Potter have to appear at the worst of times? Or... was it the best? He shook his head.

Harry nodded, gestured with one hand and wondered what he was doing. He bit back the sigh because, well, he did know what he was doing. He'd seen a too-small, too-fragile little boy that looked underfed and unloved and... What Ron labeled as his "saving people thing" had kicked in. And now it was just plain curiosity because he'd taken one look at his former rival and hadn't seen anything to rage against or suspect. He looked a little tired, really, and that alone would've knocked away any urge to fight. "Do you live around here?" he asked, tone casual.

Draco gave a small nod, picking Scorpius up and gently helping him climb over a log that rested against the curb of the sidewalk. The little boy gave a small smile and a 'thank you!' But, it came out more like 'fank yew!' as Scorpius was still missing one of his front teeth. The elder blonde smiled and pecked the boys rosy red nose before setting him on the ground. "Me and daddy live in a place wif Muggles!" Scorpius giggled, clapping his hands, his gaze bright and full of wonderment.

Harry looked down at the boy, unable to help the smile. "Do you really?"

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! We live wif lots of Muggles and witches and stuff! In a big building near the park!" His eyes lit up as he begin chatting about everything in his 'a-part-e-ment'. Everything from the red couch that he liked to jump on, to the cat named Severus (which Draco found Harry's reaction to humorous), and his snitch pajamas with his unicorn plush known as Perry. Draco cut him off there with a warm smile and a little tickle session. "Daaaaddy!" the little blonde cackled with delight.

There was nothing in this boy to suggest any sort of abuse, Harry decided. Absolutely nothing. He was happy, excitable, and clearly doted on. Harry's next smile was for Draco. "I never expected you to live in a mixed complex," he commented.

Malfoy snorted in amusement as he fixed the shoulder strap of his bag, rolling one sleeve up to reveal the smooth, silky pale skin of his right arm. He checked his watch. "It may as a shock to you, Potter. But yes, me and Scorpius do in-fact live in a part Wizarding part Muggle complex." He looked up from the small black device on his slim wrist when Scorpius gave a shriek of laughter and went to chase after a small horde of ducklings a few feet in front of them.

"Be careful!" Harry called automatically, glancing at Malfoy as they'd spoken simultaneously. The brunette shrugged at the questioning look he received in return. "I spend a lot of time with my godson, Teddy. He's always running after something."

Draco nodded, giving a small chuckle as Scorpius reached down as if to grab the duck before blinking down at his hand, revealing that he did not in fact catch the bright yellow animal. "Come on, Scorp!" He called, a soft smile pulling at his lips as Scorpius ran up and hugged his leg, causing his dad to pause in his walking to pick him up. He heard the rumble of his little stomach before giving a cute laugh, Scorpius blinking up at his father. "Apple time! Apple time!" He chanted happily.

"You know I get the distinct impression that Scorpius is a rather big fan of apples." Harry smiled at the boy, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

The little boy giggled, clapping his hands and nodding before resting his head against his dad's shoulder. "Yeah..." Draco mumbled, carting his fingers through his son's hair softly.

Harry watched carefully. Draco suddenly looked... sad and that didn't quite fit. Then it dawned on him and his gaze sharpened. The boy was sick, but... With what?

Draco's gaze most likely confirmed Harry's thoughts as his eyes locked with those of shocking emerald green. He glanced back down at Scorpius as they arrived at the small little Muggle cafe, Draco setting Scorpius on the ground.

"What is it?" Harry asked quietly. "What does he have?"

Draco got Scorpius settled with a small glass of apple juice at a little table in the corner of the bustling cafe before he glanced up at Harry from under the fringe of his bangs, setting his messenger bag down beside him. "We... we don't know."

"How do you not know?"

Draco rubbed at the back of his neck, making sure Scorpius was absorbed in his surroundings before allowing his expression to drop slightly. Weariness, exhaustion, an aching sadness - they were all reflected in swimming pools of silver. "We've been to every Healer that will take us, I've read countless books, visited libraries all across the world. There is absolutely nothing."

Considering which side of the war the Malfoy family had been on, Harry rather doubted that they'd been to too many healers. "If they don't know what it is, do they at least know a little of what's going on? He's... He looks way too small."

Draco swallowed almost audibly, his eyes falling shut. "No..." he ran a hand through his hair, his locks becoming disheveled, falling in to his eyes. "They just know that his magic... his magic is not taking to him." He waved a hand as if the motion would suddenly explain everything to the brunette across the table. A sigh fell from his lips as his hand fell to the table. "They think he might be a squib. A squib with some magic that is refusing to take." Malfoy's gaze told the brunette that he refused to believe that.

"He can't be a squib and have magic," Harry muttered, in agreement with Malfoy. That was a lazy answer. He looked at the child, pictured Teddy at his age and it just didn't take. Harry simply couldn't get over how small he was, how thin. "It's killing him, isn't it?"

Draco's eyes clenched shut, a swell of emotion twisting in his chest. "Y-Yes..." His fists clenched together, pressing against his legs. "My son is dying, and there is nothing I can do," he muttered as a small plate of apple slices was placed in front of the little blonde boy by a charming waitress. Draco gave a curt smile, the lines of his mouth strained. "Eat slowly, Scorpius. We don't need you upsetting your stomach."

"I know, 'addy!" The little boy giggled, small fingers already reaching for an apple slice, taking it and biting in to it with an excited crunch.

Harry watched Scorpius for a moment, slowly turned his gaze back to Draco. In a moment, the years vanished. This wasn't a former rival; this was a father with a very sick little boy. "Hermione will look at him."

The elder Malfoy's gaze flickered up to lock with emerald green eyes, hidden behind a pair of wire-framed glasses. "W-What? What could Hermione-"

"Daddy! Juice please!" Scorpius smiled, holding out the cup.

Draco smiled sadly, shaking his head. "Sorry little man, no more. You can't handle the sugar."

Scorpius pouted, nodding his head. "Okay..."

"But," Draco smiled softly, poking Scorpius' nose. "You can have one more apple." He felt his heart warm as his son's eyes lit up, a bright, wide smile, looking like it would hurt lit up his face.

Harry smiled. "How about later tonight? We'll come to you."

Draco thought it over for a moment before nodding his head, sipping at the water the waitress brought and continuing to gaze at his son fondly. "Sounds good, Potter. I'll leave my floo open." He snatched an apple slice off Scorpius' plate and took a bite, laughing warmly and reaching over to tickle his son as Scorpius shrieked with laughter. "D-D-Dadddy!"


	2. Black Twig

Chapter 2

_Black Twig_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"Listen, Hermione, it's important."

"Harry, the last time you said that I went into early labor."

"You aren't pregnant this time," the wizard argued and the look Hermione sent him had him sighing. "Not as pregnant."

She turned to the side, showing off a rather obvious baby bump. "Harry."

"Hermione," he returned. And ignored her sigh, plowing on. "He's five, almost six," he began, knowing that would get her. He was the same age as Hugo.

"Go on," she murmured, finally stopping fully to pay attention to him.

"They've been to a few healers, but none of them have been helpful in the slightest. They say he's a squib with magic, but the magic isn't taking. It's turned on him, it's wearing him down. And no one can say why or how. The father's been to libraries all over the world trying to find something. There's nothing, no explanation."

Hermione frowned. "There's always an explanation."

"I know there is, but no one else has been able to find it and no one else will look. No other healers will see them. Come on, Hermione. He's a single father who very obviously loves his son."

She sighed. "Harry, you say no other healers will see them and I haven't heard of this phenomena when I do my necessary rounds at St. Mungo's. This sort of thing is medical gold. You're either being lied to or they were on the wrong side of the war."

Harry opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he shrugged. "I'm not being lied to."

"For Godric's sake, Harry! If it's Nott again-"

"It isn't." He was going through another stint in Azkaban as far as Harry knew. "It... it's Draco Malfoy."

"No."

"Hermione. Medical gold."

"No."

"A five year old boy who loves apples and has a stuffed unicorn named Perry."

Hermione looked over her shoulder, nibbling on her bottom lip. "He named his stuffed unicorn?" Harry nodded and she sighed heavily, nodding. "Alright, Harry, you win. Let me finish up here and then we'll head there straightaway."

"Thanks, Hermione. You're the best."

"You're going to owe me one," she informed him, but she was smiling.

-

Harry was the first through the floo in order to give Malfoy some warning. He looked around the living room of the flat he'd just entered, smiling slightly. It was... very clean, yet somehow managed to remain inviting. A difficult balance. "Malfoy?" he called.

There was a dull thud from within the apartment and a squeal of laughter as a dorm slammed open and there was a padding of feed against the wooden floor.

"Oh no, you don't!" Draco's voice called out, laughter evident in his tone.

A few seconds later, Scorpius came running in to the living room, his towel clutched to the front of his body, his naked bum in the air as he ran around giggling. "But daddy! I don' wanna bath!" The little blonde boy raced around the couch, giggling and hiding before giving a shrill cry of "Harry!" and running up to him, clinging to his leg and hiding behind him, giggling quietly as his dad came rushing in to the living room.

Draco's hair was wet at the tips, his simple black shirt rolled up at the elbows. He was dressed in a pair of plain black sweats, his shirt soaked against his skin revealing lean muscles and broad shoulders. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," he chided, a small smile on his face as he brushed some hair from his face, the locks choosing to just fall back in the way of his mercury grey eyes.

Harry's mouth had gone completely dry at the sight of him. He hadn't really thought there was a body underneath all those clothes. He cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away and looking down at Scorpius. And then his breath caught. Merlin, he was tiny. Harry could practically see his bones. "Cor," he whispered, shocked that anyone would refuse to see these two because of a war that was long since in the past. He shook himself out of it, squatted down to the child's level and smiled at him. "Why don't you want a bath?"

Scorpius pouted, crossing his arms over his little chest. "Because baths make me dizzy."

Draco gave a small sigh from across the room, approaching the youngster slowly and kneeling down. "Scor, you have to. I made the water slightly colder this time, so no dizziness okay?" Draco look at the child with a small, patient smile, but anyone could see there was almost a pleading gesture in his eyes. Draco had gotten no sleep for the past few days, it seemed.

"Draco, why don't you go lie down? I can get Scorpius ready." Harry glanced Draco's way, then looked at Scorpius with a smile. "You've got a visitor coming over, after all. You don't want to smell bad for her, do you?"

The little child blinked his wide, silver eyes. "Visitor?" he questioned, glancing back up at Harry before nodding his head. "O-Okay." Scorpius walked over, wrapping his little arms around Draco's leg and giving a small smile. "I'll take a bath now, daddy! You sleep!"

Draco smiled gently, running his fingers through Scorpius' slightly wet hair, "Okay, Scor, daddy will sleep." He gave Harry a grateful look. "As long as you be nice for Mr. Potter, okay?"

"I think Scorp and I'll get along fine." Harry smiled. "Go ahead."

The blonde nodded, standing and quickly shuffling Scorpius off his leg who ran towards the bathroom with renewed abandon. "Thanks... Harry." Draco smiled slightly, patting him on the shoulder before walking down the hallway, stripping his shirt of in the process. Inwardly though, Draco gave a small start, a slight tingle working its way up his fingers and through his arm. What the...?

Harry tried not to stare at the newly bared back, removing his robes and laying them on the back of the chair before following the excitable child, but it was a losing battle.

Draco stripped off his water soaked pants as he shut his bedroom door at the end of the hallway, dropping them on the floor and flopping on his bed with a small, blissful sigh. He was out in minutes.

Scorpius was trying to climb into the bathtub when Harry walked in, his rubber ducky already floating about, charmed with magic to squeak every once in a while and squirt water.

Harry smiled, sweeping Scorpius up and settling him in the tub. "So your daddy didn't tell you that you've got a visitor coming over?"

Scorpius shook his little blonde head, big silver eyes were full of laughter as he grabbed the rubber ducky and gave it a squeeze, water coming out of its beak and hitting him in the shoulder. The waters temperature was slightly cold but still warm enough to not get the child sick.

Laughing, Harry rolled up his sleeves and prepared himself to get soaked to the skin. He dipped his fingers in the water, testing it, and flicked it teasingly at the boy. "Shall I tell you all about her, then?"

The boy nodded his head, spending the next few minutes listening to Harry's words avidly as the Boy-Who-Lived gently combed his fingers through Scorpius's platinum locks.

Harry carefully worked the shampoo in, tilting Scorpius's head back and letting water flow from his wand to rinse it out. "For someone who doesn't like baths," he remarked, "you're behaving wonderfully."

The little boy giggled, grabbing Harry's hand and using it to poke the ducky who scooted across the tub, bubbles from the soap parting to make way. "Thank you!" He gave Harry a missing-tooth grin, squealing happily as he saw something behind Harry's shoulder. "Daddy!"

Harry turned, smiling. "Have a good nap?"

Draco chuckled, hair disheveled and falling in to his eyes, a plain grey shirt gripped in his fingers as he walked in to the bathroom and sat on the toilet, coming a hand through Scorpius's hair. He yawned, giving a quick nod before pulling the shirt over his head. "Yeah..." he muttered hesitantly. "Thanks, Potter."

"It wasn't hard. You could've slept a bit longer," he offered.

Draco shook his head, leaning back against the plain piece of linoleum and gazing at his son, arms coming to cross over his chest. He wouldn't bother telling Potter that he was awoken by a pesky owl with an "urgent" message telling him that Scorpius' Healers appointment for tomorrow had been cancelled as something "urgent" had come up- Which just, in fact, meant that the Healer that would be overseeing Scorpius that day didn't want to deal with the Malfoy name. He gave a small sigh.

Harry's eyes narrowed a fraction as he wondered just what was going on in the blonde's mind. "Right," he said quietly and then flicked his attention back to the boy. "Ready to get out of here?"

Scorpius nodded, hair flicking in to his face as he held his arms up, making grabby hands for the brunette wizard. "Up! Up!" Draco chuckled, patting Harry's shoulder, once again ignoring the odd feeling that crept through his arm as he walked into the kitchen to get Scorpius his vitamins for the night. The elder Malfoy made sure that his son was up to date on all vitamins, hoping that it would help his son in some way. If you were to tell Draco Malfoy ten years ago that he would have a son who would need to be put on Muggle vitamins for fear he might die, Draco would have hexed you, charmed you to a wall, and hexed you again just for good measure.

Grinning, Harry swept Scorpius up into his arms. "I think we've kept Hermione waiting long enough, haven't we?" He lifted his wand, casting a drying spell on them both and then a warming charm on the boy. "Now let's get you into your pajamas."

Scorpius giggled, bobbing his little head before wrapping his lithe, frail arms around Harry's neck. "Okay! Snitchy! Snitchy!"

Draco called over from the kitchen, a small smile on his lips. "Snitches, Scorpius!" He always tried to get his son to try and speak full sentences, but at that age he didn't seem to mind. Draco shut one of the cabinets, grabbing the small cup of pills and a bottle of warm milk and walked his way down the hallway to Scorpius's room, his heart warming at the sight.

Harry was just zipping up the blue, snitch-dotted onesie when he caught sight of Draco in the doorway. He grinned, getting to his feet and bringing Scorpius with him. He didn't ask what the cup was full of, making a note to ask later. "I'll let you take it from here, Draco. I'll floo-call Hermione and let her know she can come by now."

The blonde gave a small, grateful smile, gathering the tired-eyed boy in to his arms and holding a small cup up to him. "You know the drill, Scorp." He walked further in to the room, sitting on the edge of the bright blue comforter, cradling his son against his chest.

Harry was back a few minutes later, watching for a few quiet moments. "Draco? She's in the living room."

Draco jerked his head up from coming his fingers through Scorpius' hair, nodding his head. "Okay... Come on, Scorp." He glanced in to the cup that sat on the dark wood dresser. "All taken?" He muttered as he glanced back at Scorpius, standing up and stretching with a yawn.

"Yes, daddy!"

"Ok, let's go Scorp!" He picked Scorpius up, hands under his arms as he spun the boy around, blowing a raspberry against his stomach and laughing warmly at the boy's excitable giggles.

Harry smiled slowly, watching. This was, he realized, a very solid little unit and Harry wasn't sure what Draco would do if they couldn't find a cure... It just firmed his resolve. They had to find a cure.

"Well, come on then, Scor." He chuckled, tucking the boys head under his chin as he reached down, grabbing a small white unicorn off the fluffy white pillows that sat against the wall and the bed. He held it up, the little child taking it with exhausted glee.

"Perry!" Scorpius waved the animal at Harry. "'Arry! 'Arry! T'is is Perry!" He giggled, cuddling the white unicorn to his chest, it's bright blue horn poking himself gently in the shoulder.

"He seems to be a very lovely unicorn," Harry praised, laughing softly. "Come on, kiddo. Let's go meet Hermione. I'm sure she'd like to meet Perry there, too."

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, curling back up against Draco's chest as the elder Malfoy followed Harry on the way out of his bedroom, Harry shutting the light off with a flick of his wand.

Hermione smiled coolly when she saw Draco, but the expression warmed considerably when she took notice of the child he carried. "Hello. You must be Scorpius."

The little boy buried his face against his fathers shoulder, Draco nodding his head politely. "Granger. You look well." He took notice of the hand resting against her stomach and offered her a place to sit. "Scorpius, say hi," he chided lightly, a small sense of laughter in his tone.

"H-Hello!" Draco chuckled, kissing his head.

Hermione sank gratefully onto the couch, rubbing a hand over her belly in slow circles. "Hi," she replied and let the smile go to Draco. "It's Weasley now, or Hermione if you prefer. If I could see the boy? We can get started and I can get out of your hair."

Draco gave a small nod, storing the information for a later date. "Okay, Gra- Hermione." He placed Scorpius on the ground gently, motioning for him to shuffle over to Hermione. "Go on, Scorpius. She's going to take care of you." The little boy's eyes were wide as he shuffled over, Perry crushed in his arms as he stood in front of the older witch-lady with wobbly knees.

Since Hermione couldn't do it, Harry went over and scooped Scorpius up, settling him in his lap as he sat beside the witch. "You'll be just fine," Harry assured him while Hermione drew her wand. She drew it over the boy, casting a soft, blue light that hummed over him without necessarily touching. In some places, the blue began to flicker other colors. Pale purples, angry reds, warm yellows.

"Mm," was all she said, leaning back and picking up quill and parchment to jot down several notes.

Scorpius looked up at Harry worriedly, his big silver eyes wide as his lower lip quivered. "H-Harry- what's wrong?" He clutched Perry even tighter, glancing back at Her-mi-ninny with a scared expression. "Am I sick again?"

Hermione paused, glancing up at Draco. Harry hadn't told her that Scorpius was unaware of the extent of his condition. Harry jiggled the boy carefully. "You're okay, Scorpius. She's a healer; she just wants to make sure everything's perfectly alright with you. Your dad and I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, would we?"

Draco stood, moving to kneel in front of Harry's legs, rubbing a soothing hand over Scorpius' back. "We're just trying to figure out what is wrong, okay, Scorp? Harry's right, we wouldn't let anything bad happen."

Scorpius turned around, burrowing in to Harry's arms. "Anything?" he hiccuped.

"Nothing," he murmured reassuringly.

Hermione set aside the parchment, vanishing the colors with another flick of her wand. She reached out, offered a smile. "May I see your hand, Scorpius?"

The little boy nodded after an encouraging smile from both Harry and Draco, holding out a little, pale hand. He liked Harry... he thought as Hermione grasped his hand gently. Harry protected him just like Daddy. Maybe Harry would figure out what was wrong with him so he could get all better and so his daddy would be happier. His daddy has been very sad since Scorpius got sick, he just wanted it all to go away. His arm tightened around the unicorn. He wanted to get better, to make his daddy happy.

Hermione took in the sight of the bandages, murmured a spell that healed the little scrapes that covered him. "Thank you." With a satisfied nod, she carefully laid her wand against the center of the child's palm and watched as a new blue light shimmied erratically. There was nothing normal about any of these readings; these were patterns and colors she'd never seen nor heard of before. Hermione gazed at the child, searching for any ill-effects from the use of her magic near him. There didn't seem to be any sort of issue.

She released his hand after a gentle squeeze before returning to her parchment. "Draco, I'd like to see your wand, if you don't mind."

"M-My wand?" Draco swallowed, hands suddenly clammy. He could handle Potter falling in to his life, dragging Gran-Weasley (that would take some getting used to, he told himself) in as well but asking about his wand was something personal. "I don't have it." His voice was calm, clipped, his expression instantly falling back into the Malfoy sneer he harboured years ago.

Hermione, rather stunned by this, was about to ask, but Harry beat her to it. "Why in the world don't you have your wand? Did someone take it?" His auror instincts kicked in, his hold on Scorpius becoming a bit more protective.

There was a pregnant pause, the tension in the room becoming tangible as Draco sighed in defeat. His shoulders slumped, his expression falling as his head came to thunk down against Potter's knee. "If you consider the Ministry confiscating it for 'protective purposes,' and limited my magic to that of a first year, then yes. Yes. My wand was taken from me." His voice was low, a terrible pain evident in his voice. Withdrawing Draco's magic, binding it inside of him and forcing to live almost to the notion of being a Squib was painful for him. But having to do it, while the Ministry knew full well that his son was dying was something Draco wasn't able to stomach for the first few months after Scorpius fell ill.

"It's been this way since Scorpius fell s-sick."

The two Gryffindors exchanged looks, communicating in a way that betrayed just how close they were. Hermione nodded. "I'll have Ron mention something to Percy tomorrow. We'll try and get that reversed. It's possible that being so close to bound magic is negatively affecting Scorpius's condition." Whatever that may be. She looked at her notes, frowning. The only thing she could see for absolute certainty at this moment was that his body seemed to be collapsing in on himself. At the current rate, she estimated a year, but less time wasn't impossible.

"Why would they think it was a good idea to take your magic?" Harry asked quietly, trying to hide the venom in his tone. Draco had been raised pure-blood, for Merlin's sake. He didn't have the experience in raising a child without magic, so forcing such a thing on him was irresponsible and potentially even dangerous.

Draco gave a small, meager shrug, a little smile coming to his face and brightening his eyes as Scorpius climbed down from Harry's lap and plopped in to Draco's, cuddling up to him. "Oof!"

Scorpius hiccuped, his eyes watering as he clung to his father. "I still love you daddy! W-Wif or wif out magic! Don't hate me because I'm sick, please! I-I didn't mean to make you los-lose your magic!" The little blonde was stuttering, his words jumbled and lisped as he sobbed quietly against his fathers chest.

"O-Oh Scorpius..."

Hermione sighed quietly. "Draco, if you don't mind, I'd like to take over Scorpius's case. I'll need you to sign a few things so I can have full access to his medical records, but I think I've done everything I can tonight otherwise."

Harry reached out and laid a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder. "Take Scorpius on to bed, alright? We can deal with the fine details after that."

Draco gave an audible swallow, giving a small nod to Hermione before picking the sniffling child up gently. "W-Wait-!" Scorpius called, motioning to Hermione. Draco blinked, taking a few cautious steps over to the witch. The blonde boy instantly latched his arms around Hermione's neck. "T-Thank you." He sniffled softly before unlatching his arms and snuggling back up against his daddy. "F-For trying to make my daddy happier and m-making me better."

Draco's heart warmed immediately, kissing his son's head softly. "Come on, Scor," he whispered, walking out of the room quietly, Scorpius tucked in his arms with Perry tucked in his own.

Hermione blinked back tears, watching them go. She looked at Harry once they'd rounded the corner, voice lowered to a whisper. "Oh, Harry, this isn't good at all."

He'd been terrified of hearing those words. "Do you think you can help, though?"

"I... I hope so. He doesn't have a lot of time, and it's just going to get worse." She lifted her parchment, tapped at the shorthand that Harry couldn't even half-read. "His lungs are already glowing purple, and I can't estimate the exact time he has left until I can establish the rate of decay better. Right now I'd assume a year, perhaps less."

Only a year. An unseen hand reached into Harry's chest and tightly squeezed his heart. That child only being around another year, getting worse as he went, was painful to think about. "Hermione..."

"I'm going to do everything I can," she whispered. "I really will."

"M-My s-son has o-one year left?" Draco stood at the entrance to the hallway, his expression one of the utmost heartbreak, his arms around his stomach as if he were going to be sick. His grey eyes were swimming with tears. His face already looking hagged and exhausted but now coupled with the tears, Draco Malfoy looked as if his world was ending, falling down around him.

Hermione started to rise, but found herself rather stuck. Harry took the cue of her wordless gesture and rose in her stead, going towards the blonde. "None of the other healers have given you a time frame?" he asked quietly.

Draco was shaking violently, his eyes unblinking. He had just set Scorpius to bed, his little blonde child... one year... He couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. "W-We were only able to see a handful of healers... And they just..." tears poured down his cheeks.

Hermione immediately looked irritated and muttered something about lazy, ignorant fools. Harry ignored her and reached out hesitantly. He placed his hands on Draco's shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "We're going to do everything we can, alright? Come on. Sign the things Hermione needs you to sign and we'll get started. You've got a real healer on your side now; everything'll be alright."

"W-What will I do, Potter? What will I do once Scorpius is gone?" His arms slowly wound around his stomach, hunching over as if to be sick, tears dripping down his neck. "What will I tell him? C-Can I even tell him? Oh not my baby boy... H-he's the only thing I have left..."

Working on instinct, Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around the man. "We're going to do everything we can, Draco. We're not going to let him go. He's your baby. We'll take care of it."

Draco instantly leaned in to Harry's arm, his tears dripping against Harry's shirt as his arms wrapped around the Quidditch-toned waist. "P-Please Potter- Harry- please."

"Harry," came Hermione's voice. She'd finally managed to stand. "I'm leaving the pages here. Just bring them to me in the morning."

"I will," Harry assured her and tucked Draco closer as she floo'd home. "We're not just going to let him die," he murmured, lips brushing the blonde's ear as he spoke.

Draco gave a small shudder, his breathing short and shallow. He tried opening his mouth, tried speaking some form of any word but only small whimpers came past his lips as he cried his heart out on Harry's shoulder. For the first time in a long time, Draco Malfoy cried. Not when his wife divorced him to go off with some wizard man across the world, not when his father was found dead in his cell in Azkaban, and not when his mother disappeared off the face of the earth. But, now that his son had a death day already marked on his too-short life, Draco Malfoy let the sobs wrack his chest, clutching to Harry bloody Potter as if he were the last thing he had left in this pathetic little world.

The auror rocked gently, stroking the blonde's back in careful, soothing motions. Otherwise, he let the sobs fill the silence, let Draco cry and cry and didn't stop his easy motions even as the sobs began to subside to sniffles.

Soon, Draco calmed, slowly but surely. He wiped at his eyes, rubbing his already red nose with the back of his hand. "Y-You can l-let go now, Potter..." He kept his head low, embarrassment flooding his cheeks at the current predicament of being practically cuddled like a two-year in Harry Potter's lap. He tried, and failed, to tell himself that he didn't like the feeling of the younger man's arms wrapped securely around his shoulders.

Harry didn't let go, a hand slipping into Draco's hair. "I'm sorry you found out like that."

Draco gave a small sniff, moving to sit up, one of his arms still locked around Harry's waist. "I would of had to find out sooner or later."

"I know; I'm still sorry. He's a great kid, y'know. You've managed to do one hell of a job raising him."

He let out a long sigh, his head dropping down against Harry's shoulder- personal space be damned. He was a man in need. "Y-Yeah... I tried my hardest, but having no magic certainly made it an unpleasant experience at times."

"I don't doubt that." Harry stroked his fingers lightly down Draco's back. "We'll get your magic back, alright? It's not fair that they cage it up inside of you. You were definitely never a weak wizard."

He gave a haughty smirk, leaning in to Harry's touch just slightly as he removed his head from the others chest. He paused, trying to form a sentence that was just on the tip of his tongue. "I..." A deep breath later, and Draco mumbled quietly, "Thanks again, Potter."

"Seeing how you just cried all over me, you may as well call me Harry. Scorp does."

A blush slowly spread its way across the elder Malfoy's cheeks as he pushed away from the brunette and stood, albeit on wobbly legs. "Y-Yes well, what my child does and what I do are very different."

"Still, though." Harry rose, ran a hand through his hair and then gestured to the papers on the coffee table. "Here. Sign those and I'll pick them up in the morning. You should get some sleep."

The blonde nodded, walking over to the small brown coffee table and sitting down on the couch a few feet away, the red upholstery a bright contrast to his black pajama bottoms. "Okay... Okay." He took a deep breath, eyes slipping closed as he ran a hand through his disheveled locks.

"Draco..." Harry sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I know this is probably a ridiculous question, so don't take it the wrong way. But do you want me to stay here tonight? I can take care of Scorpius in the morning for you. You can't tell me you're not exhausted."

Draco let out a breath, nodding his head. "Okay... okay. Fine Potter, you can stay the night." He reached over, grabbing the semi-large stack of papers before realizing that he didn't have a quill. He didn't even make a move to conjure one, standing up and marching over to the small bookshelf in the corner of the room. He grabbed a quill and a well of ink and walked back to the couch, plopping down unceremoniously with his feet tucked under him. "Blankets are in the cupboard at the end of the hallway and you can use my bedroom if you so wish." The 'it's not like I'm going to be getting much sleep anyway' went unsaid.

"I'm not taking your bedroom. The couch is fine." He could just transfigure it into a bed if he wanted.

The blonde just shook his head, waving a hand with a muttered, "Whatever you wish, Potter." He went back to staring at the parchment in his lap, fingers creasing the tips of the paper in a nervous habit.

"You know what the papers are for, right? She wants to take over Scorpius's case entirely, so she needs access to his medical history. And once she gets her teeth into something, she doesn't let go. If anyone can cure him, it'll be her."

He gave a small smile, a small flash of white as his teeth showed. "I know, I went to school with you lot, remember? Hermione Granger." He waved a hand dramatically before it found its way back in to his hair. "The brightest witch of our age."

Harry sank down beside the blonde. "Yeah. I'll... help you as much as I can," he offered.

Draco nodded his head, sinking back against the back of the couch and rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Okay. Can you remember a few things for if I'm not up in the morning?" He gave a small chuckle, the sound not so much humorous as it was emotionally drained. "I think the Gryffindor Golden Boy can remember what a five year old boy needs in the morning." Even if he is on his d-death bed...

"I think I can manage, yeah." Harry smiled slightly.

Draco gave another small grin, shaking his head. What was he? A Hufflepuff? The thought had him cringing. "Okay, Scorpius needs his vitamins in the morning. They're already together in a small cup near the sink. He'll probably ask for apple pancakes or something along those lines. That's fine, as long as he has a small glass of milk with them. Nothing too large or he'll get violently sick. Make sure you both wash your hands before then since his immune system is... practically non-existent." He gave a small sigh, his shoulders slumping. "And don't even bother changing him out of his pajamas... Just... let him relax. He'll need to be up before nine am or he won't sleep the next night and..." he paused, slumping back against the couch. "I really should just take care of this; it's too much to remember."

"Wash my hands before making him pancakes, give him a glass of milk with it, give him his vitamins, and have him up by nine. There are more things to remember in the middle of an arrest," Harry assured him. "I can handle it."

He rubbed a hand slowly over his face, nodding his head ever so slowly, as if he needed to encourage himself to give a response. "Okay then, Potter..." He went back to gazing at the papers in his lap; his 'thanks' didn't need to be said.

Harry looked down at his hands a moment before hesitantly wrapping an arm around the blonde and giving him a gentle squeeze. "I'll, ah, be back. I just need to go and get a few things from my flat."

Draco nodded, going back to the parchments with a renewed vigour. If there was anyone that could help Scorpius, it was Hermione Weasley. He didn't even look up as Harry floo'd away, the scratching of his quill sounding loud and almost relaxing in the dark flat.

When Harry returned, he set his bag on a chair and just watched the man for a few moments. He'd managed to convince himself at home that being attracted to Draco Malfoy wasn't the best of ideas, but now that he was back and looking at the slim, golden-haired man he was back at square one. Emotional attachments were bad ideas, but... It wasn't as though he were on a case.

Having been gone the better half of an hour, Harry came back to the sight of Draco curled up at the edge of the couch, his arms cushioning his head as he slept deeply. His hair fell in to his eyes, his lips slightly parted as his chest rose and fell with gently breaths. The parchments and quill lay forgotten on the coffee table.

Sighing, Harry stepped forward and gathered him up. He couldn't very well leave him on the couch all night and have to tiptoe around him when morning came. He carefully lifted Draco, pausing when the man murmured something unintelligible and turned his face into Harry's shirt. The brunette smiled slightly, starting down the hall.

As Draco was laid gently on top of the covers of his bed, his hand came to grasp at Harry's hand. "Potter..." he mumbled, eyes cracking open just slightly to reveal swimming pools of silver. "Thank you." The hand fell back to the bed, Draco sleeping soundly for the first time in a long time with reassurance that his child would be taken care of. Maybe everything was finally looking up for the Slytherin.

"You're welcome," Harry murmured, getting the blonde under the covers with as little disturbance as possible before striding out.


	3. Sundance & Stayman

Chapter 3

_Sundance & Stayman_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry awoke early as he always did, yawning and stretching out. An irritated _mrowl_ from the Malfoy cat reminded him though, that he was on a magically altered couch. He'd lengthened and cushioned the thing to accommodate his frame during the night and, awake now and depositing the annoyed cat on the floor, quickly set about returning it to its original state, the blankets he'd used folding themselves and the pillows popping back into the books they'd been transfigured from. He set those back on the shelves manually before padding into the kitchen, idly scratching his bare chest.

Quickly, the auror made his way through the kitchen, checking cabinets and drawers and committing the placements of things to memory while simultaneously locating everything he needed for apple pancakes. He generally made blueberry ones for himself on the rare day he had enough time to bother. A glance at the clock told him that it was nearly eight, which gave him plenty of time to get these started before he had to wake the boy up.

So after casting a wandless cleaning charm on himself, remembering what Draco had said about his son's immune system, Harry got to mixing ingredients together and chopping up the apples.

Before pouring the batter onto the griddle he found stowed away in one of the lower cabinets, Harry made his way down the hall and into the child's room. He was still asleep, curled up around his little stuffed unicorn, the covers only half covering him.

Harry walked in and sat beside the child, running his fingers through the soft, pale locks. "Scorpius? It's time to wake up."

The little boy rolled over with a small yawn, rubbing at his eyes with a small hand. "P-Papa?" His hair was a mess, sticking up at odd angles and falling into his eyes as he clutched Perry to his chest with a small yawn.

Smiling, Harry shook his head. "It's me, Scorpius. Your daddy let me sleepover, and I made you some breakfast."

The little boy gave a small whine, crawling over the few inches to plop himself unceremoniously in Harry's lap with a small, tired cry of "apple pancakes!"

"Yes, apple pancakes." The auror laughed, cuddling the boy close and lightly tickling his ribs. "Are you awake yet?"

Scorpius gave a squeal of laughter, curling up on himself and clutching his stomach. "H-Harry!" Perry flew to the side of the bed as Scorpius looked up at Harry with wide silver eyes, brightened with laughter and a large smile of pearly white teeth.

Harry laughed, lowering his head to place a playful kiss on the tip of his tiny nose. "Let's go take your vitamins and then have some delicious pancakes, okay? Or I'll just have to tickle you some more," he threatened teasingly, fingers dancing over the child.

The little boy squealed, climbing down bottom first from the bed before running down the hallway after pushing the door open farther with two tiny hands. His giggles and his bright blue snitch onesie following him down the hallway.

Laughing, Harry followed, pausing at the door of Draco's bedroom. He nudged it open quietly, just to check on the other man and make sure he was still sleeping.

Scorpius peaked in behind Harry's leg, clutching the fabric of his pants between his fingers. "Daddy sleeping?" he stage whispered, the noise loud enough for Harry to hear.

Harry pressed a finger to his lips in the universal sign of silence before peering into the room. There was a huddled form near the head of the bed, the only sign of who it might be was the tuft of blonde hair spread over a pillow. There was a slight rise and fall of the sheets and Harry slowly closed the door again. "Fast asleep," he replied in a whisper.

Scorpius gave a quick nod, his mouth forming a small 'o' before he gave a little giggle and poked Harry's knee. "You're it!" He turned, rushing away towards the kitchen and the smell of apples, his arms held out in front of him as to protect himself.

Harry ran after him, catching him just at the doorway to the kitchen. Grinning, he scooped the child up and caught him up in a hug. "Gotcha!"

Scorpius giggled, hands clamping on to Harry's face as he squealed before wrapping around his neck and burrowing against his shoulder. "Ha-arry!" He wiggled his feet. "Food! Can I have pancakes?"

"Vitamins first and then pancakes."

The child pouted before giving a small nod and grumbling a small "chair please." There was a small booster chair at the end of a fairly large bright oak table, obviously put there so Scorpius could eat.

Harry settled him in, smiling. "Do you usually have your vitamins with milk?"

He gave a quick nod, running his hands through his hair to push it back with a huff. A gasp quickly left his lips, his little body wiggling viciously. "Perry! Perry! I forgot Perry!"

"Hang on, hang on." Harry went over to the counter to pick up his wand. "Accio Perry," he summoned and the little unicorn zipped into the room. He held him out to Scorpius, smiling. "There we go."

Scorpius giggled, his smile wide as he cuddle the unicorn to his chest. "Thank you Harry!"

He ruffled the boy's hair before going to the fridge to locate milk. "You're welcome. Did Perry enjoy the ride?"

The little boy leaned down, place Perry's muzzle next to his ear and listened intently before nodding vigorously. "Mmhm! He said it was fun!"

"Anytime he wants a ride, he can have one." Harry smiled, pouring a very small glass of milk for the child. He brought it over, along with the vitamins. "Now you take these while I finish up the pancakes."

Scorpius nodded, reaching a small hand into the plain red cup and pulling out a small chewy vitamin, placing it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully before reaching for another, then another, then another. He chewed the last one before reaching for the glass of milk and downing the small amount in a few gulps. "Harry! Done!" He did a little wiggle in his seat, placing Perry on the table and clapping his hands for his pancakes.

"Good job," Harry praised, setting a small plate of pancakes before him and whisking the two cups away. He bent over to place a kiss on the top of his head, unable to resist.

Scorpius giggled, hugging Harry tightly around the neck and placing a sloppy kiss on his cheek before reaching down and, using his hands, tore off a piece of a pancake and plopped it in his mouth with the happiest hum he could manage.

Harry laughed. "Shouldn't you be using a fork, Scorpius?" He took the boy's hands in his own, let the cleaning spell wash over him.

Scorpius blushed, giving a quick nod of his head before making grabby hands at Harry with a small "fork please!"

He summoned the utensil, handed it over. "After you eat, we'll wake your daddy up, alright? I have a few things to do today."

Scorpius nodded quickly, practically devouring his pancakes with pleasure, only stopping to take a sip of the glass of water placed in front of him by the elder wizard or to "feed" Perry small pieces of the delicious pancakes. "All done!" He giggled, clapping his hands after a few minutes.

"All done and sticky." Harry laughed, setting aside his cuppa to clean the boy again. He couldn't resist pressing a light kiss to his cheek. "Go and wake him up, alright? I'll start cleaning up."

Scorpius nodded as he was placed on the floor, his little snitch covered feet taking off with Perry dragging along behind him. Scorpius gently pushed open the door, head poking in before he shuffled to the bed. It took the short boy a few minutes but he eventually climbed on to the bed, grabbing on to the sheets to pull him up after gently placing Perry over the side of the bed with a small toss. He crawled over, plopping down near his daddy's head. With a small push to his shoulder, Scorpius giggled. "Daddy," he whispered loudly. "Daddy, wake up!" He tugged at the covers again, pulling them away from Draco's shoulder and exposing the skin to slightly colder air.

"E-Eh?" The elder Malfoy mumbled quietly, eyes cracking open, his vision blurry. "S-Scorpius?" His voice was raspy with sleep. "Is everything alright?"

The little blonde boy nodded and giggled. "Yes! Harry made me and Perry pancakes!" At the word pancakes Scorpius picked Perry up and flew him around, giggling as he himself landed on his father's back, Perry clutched tightly in his arms.

A sleepy smiled pulled at Draco's face, his eyes warming at the sight of his son. He wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close to his body and kissing his head. "Oh really? Did you thank Mr. Potter?"

"Mmhm!" The child hummed in agreement, peels of laughter quickly leaving his lips as Draco reached over and tickled Scorpius's tummy, the little boy wiggling around and laughing, the sound filling the room and making its way down the hall.

Harry smiled at the sound, finishing the dishes and making his way down, a cup of tea in hand. He paused in the doorway, leaning against the jamb. "'Morning, Draco."

Draco looked up from tickling his son, a small, warm smile making its way across his lips before he felt warmth spread against his cheeks. Merlin Potter looked practically delicious without a shirt on.

"Good morning, Po- Harry." He nodded once more before looking down at Scorpius and smiling, the little boy breathing heavier than he was when he walked in, his cheeks red with laughter.

Harry smiled at the boy as well. "There's still some batter left if you want anything. And I made tea." He gestured with his own cup and chose to ignore the fact that he had things to do today, content to just sit and watch the pair of blondes.

The blonde gave a small nod, laughing warmly as Scorpius climbed over his chest and plopped to the floor. "Can I help?" He smiled widely, clapping his hands as Draco pulled himself out of the bed, his chest oddly bare. He fell asleep with a shirt on last night but waking up a few hours later had quickly divulged him of that piece of fabric.

"If Harry says you can," he said quietly, the statement directed at the brunette.

The question was nearly lost on Harry, who was busily drinking in the sight of shirtless Draco Malfoy. He cleared his throat, a hint of pink touching his cheeks when he realized it and he grinned down at Scorpius. "Of course you can help."

The elder Malfoy smirked as he walked around the bed, pants slung low against his hips. He picked Scorpius up, pecking his forehead. "Let's go make me some pancakes, okay, Scorpius?" The little child cheered, clapping his hands animatedly.

Harry's heart fluttered in his chest as he wondered if Draco was going to remain very delightfully shirtless. Abruptly, he turned to go, the tea only remaining in the cup because of a non-spilling spell he was in the habit of employing anytime he had something to drink. "Right, then."

Draco gave a small chuckle as he followed behind the brunette as he made he way to the kitchen. "Did Scorp take his vitamins?"

"Yeah, every one of them. Didn't you, Scorpius?"

The child nodded happily as he was placed on Draco's hip, the elder Malfoy walking into the kitchen and looking around with a small smirk. "Well, Potter, it looks like you've managed to not destroy my kitchen."

"Amazingly enough, I have figured out how to pick up after myself," he replied, lips curving.

He raised an eyebrow, his expression haughty even as his eyes betrayed him. "Oh really? And how long did that take you? All through seventh year?" Scorpius looked on in confusion.

"No, actually. Hermione came to my house one day and completely chewed me out for the mess. She's bloody terrifying when she rants, I swear. I'm now a clean and orderly citizen."

Laughter slipped past his lips as he sat Scorpius on the counter. "Clean and orderly, Harry?" He reached over to the bowl of batter, the lights above catching against the pale skin of his chest revealing long and sinewy scars of a light silvery sheen, running across his chest as he pulled the bowl back towards him, smiling warmly as Scorpius reached a finger inside and swirled the batter around.

Harry reached out, touching the scars before he realized he'd lifted his hand. But he didn't drop it when he noticed, only lifting his gaze to meet the blonde's, a mute apology in his eyes.

"I've forgotten they were even there," he muttered softly, eyes following the path of Harry's hand to connect with his eyes, warm silver meeting apologetic emerald. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Potter." He grabbed the others hand, letting their touch linger for a few seconds before dropping the tan hand in order to pull the pancake bowl closer and help Scorpius pour a lopsided clump of batter on to the griddle.

"My pretty little head?" he repeated, smile wry.

He rolled his eyes, clonking Harry upside the head gently. "Whatever, Potter. I would drop that ego before Hermione hears." He smiled, muttering a soft encouragement to Scorpius as he helped Draco flip the oddly shaped pancake.

"Hermione's well-aware of my ego, Draco. She's helped perfect it." He ruffled Scorpius's hair, unable to resist it. The little boy was entirely too sweet.

The elder Malfoy chuckled, placing the pancake on a plate he grabbed from overhead and allowing Scorpius to drop it on the griddle. "Okay Scorpius, down we go." He grabbed the boy under his arms and placed him on the floor gently, ruffling his hair. "Thank you very much, Scorp."

The little boy giggled, running hands through his hair to flatten it down. "Welcome, daddy!"

Smiling, Harry fetched a mug out of another cabinet. "How do you usually have your tea?"

The blonde placed the plate on the counter. "Hey, Scorpius," the little boy looked up from playing with Perry on the floor. "Go play in your room, will you please?"

His response was a bright grin and an "okay, daddy!" as the little child teetered off to his room with Perry in tow.

"Two sugars, one creme."

"Ah." Harry prepared it quietly, the tension palpable in his mind as the shield of a child scampered out. Left alone with the object of his attraction, Harry wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself.

Draco accepted the mug with a small thanks, both hands coming to clasp at the warmth as he took a small sip, humming in acceptable pleasure. "Look Harry..." he spoke quietly after a few tense moments, Scorpius' chatter echoing from his bedroom. "I can't thank you enough, I really can't. What you're doing for Scorpius..." His voice dropped to a mere whisper, his heart thundering in his chest. "What you're doing for me." He swallowed past the lump in his throat, taking another small sip of tea. "I can never repay you for this."

Shite, was Harry's first thought, and then he just wanted to squirm. He couldn't bloody well act on his attraction, he realized. He was trying to help the pair of them and he was sure Draco would take it the wrong way if he made any... moves. He offered a smile. "I really don't want any repayment. I don't want him, or you, to hurt." Harry sighed, looking passed Draco, listening to Scorpius's muffled voice for a moment. "You're doing an amazing job with him. Truly. And it's really obvious how much you really love him. I can't... I can't just walk away from that."

A few more tense moments passed as Draco contemplated a few things in his head, sipping his tea periodically. After a moment of consideration he set his cup down on the counter behind him before closing the space between him and Harry, placing a hand gently on the others waist, fingering the fabric that rested against skin below that he had no doubt was taut with muscles and was tan as if kissed by the sun. "No really, Harry," he whispered quietly, throat running dry as his heart clamored in his chest. "Thank you."

"I..." Harry swallowed thickly, heart thudding almost painfully against his ribs. "I don't want you to want me out of gratitude. I want you to just... want me," he whispered.

"Who said I wanted you out of gratitude?" His whispered words were washing over Harry's lips, the simplest brushes of air as he stepped closer, their hips barely brushing.

"Just making sure," Harry replied, a hand lifting and pressing against the small of Draco's back, nudging him the slightest inch closer.

Draco allowed the push, breath hitching in his throat as he was pressed chest to chest with the younger wizard, their breath mingling as they met each others gaze. "Just kiss me and get it over with, Potter." His whispered words were soft, no hint of an accusing tone as his other hand came up to finger the fabric of Harry's shirt, resting his palm against his hip.

He tilted his head slightly, trailed the tip of his tongue teasingly over Draco's lips and shivered. "I did tell you to call me Harry, didn't I?"

He swallowed, trying to talk past the lump in his throat, and he whispered softly. "O-Oh just shut it, Harry." He leaned forward the rest of the way, a shiver running up his spine as he pressed their lips together, practically melting into the simple touch.

Harry sighed into the kiss, backing Draco up until he was against the counter and then used the entrapment to press more firmly against the Slytherin, a hand sliding up and into his soft, disheveled hair.

The blonde let out a small gasp, pressing firmly back against the Gryffindor and lifting his arms to lock around Harry's neck, heart pounding almost violently in his chest as he kissed back, moving their lips together.

Harry swept his tongue over Draco's lips again, not so teasingly this time, but demanding entrance.

The blonde's lips parted eagerly, one hand coming up to push through Harry's hair, tangling his fingers in unkempt brown locks.

On a moan, Harry managed to press closer as his tongue stole inside, sliding over Draco's with abandon. He had the ridiculous thought of tasting hot and tawdry sunshine before all thoughts skittered away.

He moaned as his tongue met Harry's, his thoughts racing with the knowledge that he was finally kissing the man that saved his son- saved him. His hands drifted down, his fingers dancing beneath the hem of Harry's shirt to run across the warm skin beneath.

Harry made encouraging sounds, reveling in the touch of this gorgeous, gorgeous man. The hand not tangled in his hair began to explore every inch of Draco's back, fingers pressing, stroking, caressing.

Draco pulled Harry's bottom lip between his teeth, hands wandering and caressing the supple skin beneath his shirt. His heart thundered in his chest, his thoughts running rampant in his brain. After all the years of wondering, the passing thoughts and the long glances, this is what it was finally like to kiss Harry bloody Potter. A soft moan escaped his lips. Merlin he could get used to it.

Harry slipped a leg between Draco's, thigh pressing into his groin, hands dropping to his waist to somehow try and get him closer.

"Fuck- Harry!" Draco moaned, pressing into the touch as he leaned down, nipping and sucking at the smooth skin of Harry's neck, hands moving further up his chest as his nails scraped against the sun-kissed skin.

Harry let go of Draco's waist only long enough to drag his own shirt off. Pressing against Draco with that barrier removed had a moan escaping because, fuck, he had nice skin. Smooth and soft and warm. Harry dropped his mouth to Draco's and bit, sucking at the raised skin to mark him.

Draco gasped, a soft string of moans leaving his lips as he ground his hips against the others, hands and lips greedily tracing every inch of skin he could reach as Harry did whatever the fuck it was he was doing, but Merlin it felt wonderful.

"Does that make him my daddy now?" ...Draco froze.

Harry did as well, but couldn't stop the hot pants against Draco's shoulder. "Shite," he whispered.

Draco took a few moments to catch his breath before he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Harry's shoulder and gently pushed the other off him. "Scorpius-"

The little blonde boy stood innocently at the entrance to the kitchen, silvery eyes wide with wonderment and confusion as he took in his daddy's current state. "Or should I call him papa?" Draco wanted to smack himself in the forehead.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, looking from Draco to his son. His body was still very much on overdrive and his mind was still struggling to click things together. "Ah... I'll let you take this," he murmured, smiling ruefully.

Draco rolled his eyes, sending a small glare over his shoulder that just screamed a sarcastic "Thanks, see if I let you continue to snog me against my kitchen counter." Draco approached the little boy wearily, kneeling down in front of him and running a hand through his own blonde locks.

"Scorpius, you see-"

"Because I'd like Harry to be my daddy," the child barreled on, eyes wide and innocent as he gazed at his father, Perry clutched tightly between his thin fingers.

Okay, Harry couldn't just let Draco take that on his own. With one little statement, the boy had completely snatched Harry's heart away and was holding it as tightly as he was his unicorn. Harry walked over, squatting down and dragging Scorpius against him. "It's not that easy," Harry murmured.

"Why not?" Scorpius questioned, arms wrapping almost near-perfect around Harry's neck. "You love daddy, and my daddy loves you-" He looked to Draco for any disagreement. To say Draco was shocked at his own son's words would of been an understatement.

Scorpius continued. "So that means you can be my new papa, right? You make daddy happy, and daddy makes you smile! So you're my new papa." His grin was wide and toothy, his expression one of wonderment at - what he thought was - his wonderful, logical reasoning.

Oh, Godric, how was he supposed to explain this and not crush the boy? "It takes... time," he finally decided. "Making each other happy is only part of it. But there are lots of things to do before I would be able to be your papa and those things take a lot of time. Don't they, Draco?"

Coughing to clear his throat, Draco nodded. "Yes Scorpius, H-Harry's right." He reached over, rubbing a hand over his son's back soothingly. "But you are right, Harry does make me happy. So maybe he'll be your papa soon." The blush that was evident on Draco's cheeks told that he wouldn't mind the fact of Harry being a father to Scorpius.

Harry's own blush had pinkened his cheeks, so he buried his face in Scorpius's hair to hide it. "You are an amazing little boy," he whispered, holding him close.

Scorpius giggled softly, curling up in Harry's arms. "Thank you."

"And modest," Draco smiled warmly, rolling his eyes. "As well as a little sneak!" He reached over, tickling Scorpius wildly.

Harry laughed, keeping a hold of the child as he wriggled and squealed. He turned a wide smile on Draco and found himself not minding the idea of becoming Scorpius's papa in the slightest.

Draco smiled, leaning forward over the wiggling child to kiss Harry warmly, enjoying entertaining the idea in his head of making this a normality. Scorpius wiggled, giggling warmly and snuggling in Harry's lap. "Daddy, can we go to the park?"

"You can't go if you're not dressed," Harry pointed out. "Why don't you and Perry go pick something out while your daddy and I talk about really boring adult stuff?"

Scorpius stuck his little pink tongue out in obvious disgust before grabbing Perry with a hurried whisper of "Run Perry, run!" and he zoomed out of the kitchen with sound effects pouring from his lips as he hefted Perry high into the air.

"Careful!" Draco called, laughing softly.

When he was out of sight, and with the smile still curving his lips, Harry slid a hand into Draco's hair and pressed him close again for a light, brief kiss. "I have things I need to get done, actually, if you want to take Scorpius to the park. I can be back later." He brushed his thumb over the blonde's bottom lip. "If you want me, anyway."

He gave a small chuckle, nipping at Harry's thumb gently. "No, I don't want you. Get out right now, you blubbering buffoon." His expression was serious, a few pregnant seconds passing before he broke out in peals of laughter, clutching at his stomach as he leaned against Harry's shoulder. "O-Of course I'd love to have you, Harry." He smiled warmly after a few moments of laughter, leaning forward to kiss him softly. "If you'll have me that is."

"Irritating git." But he was smiling as he drew the other man closer. He rested his brow on Draco's, the smile fading into a sincere expression. "I'm getting your wand back today."

His gaze rested on Harry's face for a few moments before his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. He shook his head, rubbing at his eyes viciously. "W-Why-? I mean- You don't-" He chuckled lowly, shaking his head as if to make himself believe something. "I'm going to owe you a lot of thanks after this, aren't I?"

"You don't owe me anything, Draco. All I want is for that happy little kid to stay that way." His smile was soft. "And for his gorgeous father to be able to be who he is without the damn Ministry getting in the way."

A blush spread slowly across Draco's cheeks. He coughed awkwardly into his palm as he stood, grabbing Harry's shirt off the counter and flinging it to him, avoiding his gaze and keeping his hands at his side. "W-Well... yes. Okay. Very good, Potter. I-" His shoulders slumped, his heart hammering wildly in his chest as he drop the facade and marched up to Potter- to Harry and kissed him firmly on the lips. "Just hurry back and be careful, you stupid Gryffindor. You have a little boy who would be crushed to see his new hopeful candidate for the position of 'daddy' not come back in one piece."

With a laugh, Harry pulled on his shirt. His name still carried a lot of weight when he needed it to, particularly since he so rarely used it. He grinned at Draco. "I know how things work there. I work there," he reminded him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

The elder Malfoy smiled warmly, leaning back against the counter with one foot resting up against the boards, his arms crossing over his pale, bare chest as he smiled at the Boy-Who-Lived. "Yeah, yeah. Go throw your name around and have fun. Just come back." It wasn't a question.

"I will." And, because he couldn't resist, Harry walked over and wrapped his arms around the blonde, dragging him close and pressing their lips together a final time.

Draco kissed back just as warmly, goosebumps rising on his arms at the cold contact of Harry's hands. He pulled away after a few, long moments. "Okay you- go on, shoo. You're not wanted here anymore! Go on!" Draco's grin betrayed him.

"Bye, dadd- I mean Harry! Bye-bye!" Scorpius called from the entrance to his bedroom, waving Perry around frantically.

Harry leaned back, beaming. "I'll be back later." He walked out of the kitchen, waved at the boy. "I'll see you later, Scorpius."

"Bye-bye, Harry!"

"Goodbye, Harry."

And with the Floo flaring behind him, taking the final grin he tossed over his shoulder, Harry was gone.


	4. Arkansas Black

Chapter 4

_Arkansas Black_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry was irritated. Absolutely and completely irritated. After dropping the papers off at Hermione's place, transferring all control of Scorpius's medical well-being to her more than capable hands, he'd come to the Ministry... and had gotten the run-around. Getting Draco Malfoy's wand back was taking hours that Harry didn't want to spend at the bloody Ministry. He was sent from the First Level to the Tenth and back again and now, in the Wizengamot Administration Services on the Second Level, he was resisting the urge to gnash his teeth together.

"Listen up, Hopkins, I don't give a bloody damn if I'm not a relative, I filled out the damn papers your bloody secretary gave me. And I have a page to prove that you have his wand and I want it. Now."

"No! You listen here, Potter. It specifically states that you need to have a family relationship to the wand owner to be able to obtain the bloody damn thing!" His finger jammed down on to the piece of paper, signaling a rule written in the massive jumble of text that was supposed to justify his words. "And last time I checked you have no relation to Malfoy!"

Harry leaned forward, straightening to his full height and glaring daggers at the Hufflepuff he hardly even recognized. "That wand is just as much mine as it is his." His chin angled dangerously. "Unless you've completely forgotten, I killed Voldemort with that wand. And I'm also legal guardian of his cousin, making me family." And even he knew that was stretching it a little, but Hopkins didn't need to know that.

Hopkin's glared, hands planted firmly on his desk as he practically spat in the others face. "I don't give a flying fuck who you killed Potter. No relation. No wand. No exception. Now leave before I call security." he sat back down in his brown upholstered chair with grace befitting that of a beached whale.

"Hopkins, I know every single person on your security team and they won't do a thing to me. I will go to Shackleboltif you don't stop acting like a child."

He glared up from his seat, hand clasped firmly together on top of his desk. "Was that a threat, Potter?"

Harry lifted a brow. "I've looked at the files that detail why Malfoy's wand was taken. The reasons are lame excuses for your departments lack of work, and I have a letter from Malfoy's son's physician explaining why Malfoy's forcibly repressed magic may be worsening the boy's condition. You have to give me that wand or I can very easily arrest you right now for attempted murder."

"I don't have to do-"

"Stupefy!"

Seamus smiled abashedly, waving a wand-clasped hand from behind his now frozen boss. "H-Hiya Harry! Sorry about him..." He rushed forward, reaching around Hopkins and tugging open a desk drawer with a muttered spell. "Extendable Extension Charm!" he exclaimed, "Hermione's a genius, she is! Here ya go!" A wand was tossed Harry's way. "That's Malfoy's, innit?"

Harry looked at the hawthorn, could feel the magic in it straining. He had to get this to Draco. He looked up, grinned at Seamus. "Sticking your neck out there, aren't you?"

He grinned, giving a wink of his eye that was suspiciously missing one eyebrow, as he turned back towards his office. "For you, 'Arry? Anythin'."

Smiling, Harry tucked the wand back up his sleeve. "Let Dean know I said hi, then."

A blush spread its way across the Irish-man's cheeks, ducking his head as if to hide the tell-tale signs of the redness blooming its way across his cheeks. "I-I will."

With a laugh, Harry gave a nod and swept out. He headed down the hall to his own office, where he could leave by floo. Hopefully, Draco had kept his open. He took a pinch of powder from the little canister on his mantle and tossed it in. "Malfoy Flat," he said clearly and stepped through, coming out with a small stumble into Draco's living room. One of these days, he'd be able to floo perfectly.

"HARRY! HARRY!" A voice screamed loudly, feet pounding in to the living room. Scorpius slipped on the carpet, his hands catching him before his was up and running towards the brunette screaming bloody murder in the form of the Boy-Who-Lived's name. "Daddy is b-b-bleeding!"

Bleeding? The worst flashed through Harry's mind, making his knees weak. Oh, no. Eyes wide, he plucked the child up. "Where is he?"

"B-B-Bathroom." His eyes were wide and watering, tears dripping down against his cheeks as his little bottom lip quivered. Perry was nowhere in sight.

Harry carried him off. "Where's Perry at?"

Scorpius sniffled softly, a small whimper escaping his lips. "P-Protecting daddy..." His arms locked around Harry's neck tightly, most likely as tight as a little boy as frail as him could grab.

"Okay. That's good. Unicorns are excellent protectors."

Scorpius smiled widely passed his tears. "I-I know!" He wiggled his feet. "H-He's the best!" They reached the bathroom door, the white wood in their faces as it was closed firmly.

Harry set Scorpius down. "You go on to your room, alright? I'll send Perry out when everything's okay again."

The little boy shook his head. "N-No! I-I need to see if d-daddy is alright!"

The bathroom door was swung open, Draco leaning a hip against the counter as he poked and prodded at his own lip that was split open, blood dripping down his chin and into the sink. "Scorpius doesn't do well with blood when it's coming from other people. His own blood seems to fascinate him." The blonde rose an eyebrow, looking at his face from side to side in the mirror as he wiped away some of the blood with a hiss and a small grimace of pain.

"Godric, Draco." Harry's shoulders sagged in relief, heart still racing from the momentary panic. "There, Scorpius, see? He's just fine."

"N-No he's not! L-Look!" Scorpius pointed a shaky finger at Draco's face, his father looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. "B-B-Blood!" The little child squeaked as if he were about to kneel over.

Harry set him down, lifting his wand and tapping it lightly on Draco's lip. "Episkey," he murmured, and let the spell do its work.

Draco gave a small hiss, a small cringe as he gently touched his lip. "T-Thanks, Po- Harry." He grabbed a towel, dabbing away the blood before smiling in to the mirror. No blood? He turned his head side to side and grinned again, checking his teeth for any signs of the red liquid as well. No.

He turned giving a small smile to Scorpius and holding his arms open, the child instantly running in to them with a small, gratified squeak, his little feet carrying him into his daddy's open arms. "D-Daddy! Are you okay? Did the bad man hurt you?"

Harry's eyes narrowed a fraction. "Bad man?" he repeated.

Draco rolled his eyes, kissing the top of Scorpius's head and handing him Perry from atop the counter. Perry was a little worse for wear, a few smudges of dirt against his pure white fur and his mane of blue hair was a little tangled. "Why don't you go get Perry all cleaned up? I'm all protected now," he whispered quietly, placing the unicorn in Scorpius's arms and kissing his forehead. The child nodded, ambling out of the bathroom after bumping in to Harry's leg, his knees still a little weak. Both tiny arms were clasped firmly around the unicorn as he meandered into his bedroom.

Harry took a hold of Draco's hand, tugging him close. "What happened?"

Draco gave a small sigh, welcoming the touch as he leaned into it. "Just some ruffian wizard who still had his head back in the war-days. Death Eater scum and all that." He didn't bother mentioning to Harry that the Dark Mark on his arm drove him crazy. He wrapped an arm around Harry's waist so he didn't push the sleeve of his shirt up and itch at the annoying ink.

For most members of the Death Eater crowd the Mark burned itself away, leaving nothing but a horrified scar. But for Draco, for some strange reason, only the bottom portion of the snake's tail had burned off, everything else still remained as vile and as... there as they were the day he received the damn thing.

And Draco hadn't even had his wand. It could've been so much worse. Harry wrapped his arms carefully around the other man. "And you told me to be careful?"

Draco rolled his eyes, nipping at Harry's bottom lip lightly, cautiously. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, Potter. You and I are on completely difference levels of 'needing to be careful.'"

"I realize that." Harry threaded his fingers through Draco's hair, smiling slowly since Draco was awake and everything seemed to be alright. "I have something for you."

Draco leaned his head in to the touch before he blinked, his eyes meeting those of shocking emerald green. He gasped after a moment, his hand shaking lightly against Harry's hip. "M-My wand?"

"I told you I'd get it back," Harry murmured, the hand in his hair sliding down to cup his cheek. "Let's go to the living room. I'm not entirely sure what'll happen when you actually touch it."

Draco gave a small nod, his right hand shaking slightly. To finally be able to hold a wand after all this time? Draco couldn't even remember how long its been since he was able to do some of the simplest spells... A year? Two? He couldn't wait to feel the magic - his magic - coursing through his hand again.

Harry took a hold of Draco's hand, leading him out and down the hall. He couldn't imagine what it must be like, having magic only to have it yanked away and suppressed. He sank down onto the couch and retrieved the wand from his sleeve before cautiously offering it.

Draco's hand shook almost violently has he reached out, cautiously pausing as his eyes assessed Harry's face, as if he believed the man would offer up the wand just to take it back with a small laugh and an "A-ha, you're not getting it back!"

"Draco," Harry whispered, smiling, "take your magic back."

His hand closed around the base of the hawthorn wand, a gasp forcibly leaving his chest as the flat practically swooned. It bent under his magic, the wood of his apartment croaking nosily as Draco's hand closed around his wand for the first time in a very long time.

Harry shuddered, his own hand jerking away from the hawthorn as if burned.

Draco took in a shuddering breath, swallowing audibly as he flicked his wand just marginally and the cuppa on the coffee table not even a meter away burst into shards, sending pieces of green glass across the room. Draco gave a small smile.

A shield snapped up instinctively as Harry watched the shards. He was at once thankful that Scorpius was in his room, even as he wondered how the child had reacted to the sudden burst of magical energies. Perhaps they should've done this outside...

Draco laughed warmly, the sound carrying across the room as he flicked his wand. Books flew from the bookshelves that lined the wall, stacking themselves on the table that had cleaned itself with another flick. A cup of steaming out tea flew out of the kitchen next as well as Scorpius' toys organizing themselves in front of the fireplace. Another laugh had Draco collapsing against the couch, a few stray tears pouring down his cheeks as he gripped his wand tightly.

"Don't do too much at once," Harry murmured, reaching out and touching the man's cheek. "You might scare Scorpius."

"I know." The other man answered blissfully, just finally happy to have his magic back and flowing through his veins, slowly leaking out of its pathetic bind deep inside."O-Oh Harry..." He held his wand tightly, letting out a dreamy sigh. "I can do magic again."

Harry nodded. "I'm going to make sure no one ever dares to take it away again. I promise you that."

Draco took a few moments to collect himself, taking a few deep breaths as he gently ran his fingers over the wood, breath catching slightly as he ran it over the small, marginal chip right at the bottom of the handle that he made in sixth year. "I... I really do owe you, Potter. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The shield dropped away and Harry closed his eyes, feeling Draco's magic pulsing and growing beside him. It had been well-worth the irritation at the Ministry.

He gave a small smile, standing on placing his wand in his pocket. "Well, come on then. Get up. Scorpius will be wanting to see you now that he's done crying over my spilt blood." He held a hand out after a moment's consideration.

Harry clasped the blonde's hand, rising. "I'll be glad to see him, too."

"You better. Can't have you crushing my son's heart at the prospect of a new father, now can you?" Draco chided lightly, walking down the hallway, his hand clasped firmly in Harry's as he reached Scorpius's door. "Scorp?" He knocked lightly before pushing the white door open, ignoring the signs that said 'Scorpius's Room!' in big blue letters with a small child-drawn unicorn picture below. 'And Perry!'

Draco's face flashed with a moment of pain before he dropped Harry's hand and walked in to the room, kneeling down next to the little blonde boy who was attempting to pull on a new shirt but alas, the sleeves and the hole for his bright blonde head had gotten tangled and Scorpius was... well... stuck. Scorpius was bone thin, his ribs poking out from underneath pale, almost translucent flesh. His hip bones were pointy from beneath the edge of his pants and his arms were thin and had almost no muscle tone that a five year old boy, as active as the one before the elder Malfoy, should have.

"Oh Scorp..." Draco chuckled softly, a hint of underline sadness evident in his tone to anyone that would listen. Which, at this point in the elder Malfoy's life, was as many people that he could count on one hand.

Harry sighed quietly. He'd seen how rail thin he'd looked in the tub, but now, with Hermione's time limit in mind, it gave him a pang. He shouldn't be so thin and small... He just shouldn't. He walked in after Draco, settling beside him. He laid a hand on the blonde man's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Who taught you how to get dressed, Scorp?" he teased.

The boy giggled, the sound muffled by his Slytherin green shirt that was covered in little, baby-like silver coloured snakes. "Daddy-"

"Oh no you don't!" Draco laughed warmly, grabbing Scorpius around the belly and pulling him closer, fixing his shirt quickly and help pull the shirt over his head before tickling his stomach, the little boy's shrieks of laughter echoing around the room. "You taught yourself!" He laughed warmly, his son wiggling wildly in his lap.

Harry laughed, wrapping his arms around Draco, trapping Scorpius between them. They were a beautiful pair that just couldn't be separated. He wouldn't let it happen.

Scorpius popped his head out from between the elder wizards' arms, smiling widely and giggling, snuggling up in their arms. Draco smiled at Harry, glancing back down at his son and kissing his head. Draco had never really been optimistic, but maybe now it was the time to turn that around and come out of the metaphorical dungeon that he shoved himself in when he found out his son was sick.

"Hermione wants to see him again, later tonight after she's had time to review his files. Is that alright?"

Draco nodded, wiggling his fingers against Scorpius's stomach to get the boy laughing again after a few moments of tense silence. "Yes, of course. Tell her I'll leave the floo open."

"Is Mrs. Her-my-ninny coming ober again?"

"It's over Scorpius, and yes. Mrs. Weasley is coming over."

"Yay!" The little boy wiggled happily, thoughts swarming with little fantasy of all the bright colours that sparked from Mrs. Weasley's wand. "Does that mean daddy is sleeping over again?" The child blushed after a second, silver eyes wide with realization. "I-I mean Mr. Harry."

Harry smiled, looking from son to father. "Am I?"

Draco rolled his eyes, leaning over and pressing his lips to Harry's softly, shuddering at the tingling that found its way up his fingers and down to his toes. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Scorpius's loud cheers rang through the house.

Lips to Draco's ear, Harry lowered his voice so Scorpius couldn't hear. "In your bed?"

A blush found it's way to Draco's cheeks, the blonde ducking down to bury his nose in equally blonde hair with a small mumbled 'We'll see about that, P-Potter.' Scorpius looked on in confusion before jerking his head up, almost clonking Draco in the nose.

"Hello?" A voice yelled through the apartment.

"Her-my-ninny!" Scorpius screamed, wiggling violently to get out of Draco and Harry's grasps before taking off down the hallway, almost running face first in to the wall outside of his bedroom, his socked feet almost not able to turn fast enough.

"I guess she's finished reading his files." Grinning, Harry brushed his thumb over Draco's lower lip before getting to his feet.

Draco reached for the hand that Harry offered after standing up, pulling himself to his feet and lacing their fingers with a small smile. "I guess so. Come on," he nodded his head towards the living room. "Scorpius sounds like he is wreaking little five year old havoc on the pregnant healer."

"Well, she has a five year old. She can handle five year old havoc." And, sure enough, Harry could hear her laughing as they made their way down the hall.

Draco shook his head and laughed warmly as he dropped Harry's hand and rushed in to the room, picking Scorpius up from behind and spinning him around. "And what is the heir of the Malfoy name doing playing with a unicorn?" Draco dropped the expression, adopting one of cool indifference.

Scorpius grumbled, copying his father's expression and crossing his arms over his little chest as he was held up in the air. "It was being mean to Mrs. Her-my-ninny. And you always told me to be nice to lady-people so I was teaching him to be nice to Mrs. Her-my-ninny."

Draco paused for a moment before he broke out in warm laughter, pulling Scorpius in to his chest and nuzzling his hair. "Haha, oh really?" Scorpius proceeded to regale Draco with tales of how Perry didn't offer Mrs. Her-my-ninny a chair when she floo'd over and how Scorpius was reprimanding him about how she was having a magical baby and her feets would be hurting if she didn't sit. Draco accepted this story with a small smile and fond eyes for his one and only child.

Hermione sank onto the couch, smiling. "I'm very grateful to Scorpius, really. And I'm sorry for just dropping in like this. Hello, Harry."

"Hi," he greeted, and sat beside her.

"It's truly fine, Hermione. My home is now yours for as long as you are helping Scorpius." He met Harry's eyes, holding the gaze as he sat on a small loveseat with Scorpius playing silently at his feet. "And after."

Hermione looked between the two men, nodding carefully. "I see." And she'd have to talk to Harry later. For now, she caught his eye and lifted a brow and his answering smile had her nodding. For now, she was satisfied. "Well, I read through his files and I'm more than willing to help. What I said yesterday, though... I've just about confirmed it."

Draco's face instantly lost any color, his lower lip being sucked in to his mouth and gnawed on by nervous teeth. "Okay, well..." he gripped his hands in his lap, his mask dropping to cool indifference, but anyone could see he was dreadfully worried about the fate of his only son who sat only a few feet away by his feet. "Do you have any guesses as to what may be wrong with him?"

"Draco," Harry murmured. "Should we talk about it with him right here?"

He glanced at his feet, shaking his head. "You're right... you're right. What was I thinking?" The last bit was mumbled more to himself than anyone as he leaned down and combed a hand through Scorpius's disheveled locks. "Scorp, can you go play in your room?"

The little boy nodded with a wide smile, oblivious to the tense atmosphere of discussing his own death date. "Okay, daddy!" He meandered away after picking Perry up and zooming out of the room.

Draco sat back with a long exhale, hands clasping in his lap as one leg crossed over the other. "Now, do you have any guesses as to what might be wrong with him?"

"Well, you've had one or two healers who were actually able to come up with a rather close diagnosis. Labeling him a squib, though, is totally inaccurate. He has magic, but it's showing up rather early. It's very possible that the problem will correct itself as he gets older, but..." The brisk tone she'd been aiming for cracked a little bit, so she cleared her throat. "His chances of getting older are entirely too low. His magic is, as you've been told before, not taking to him. It's..."

She ran a hand through her hair, looking down at her notes even though she didn't need to. She'd spent the entire day pouring over these files, searching for anything that might help. "His magic is like a virus. His body's decided to treat it as a threat, so his immune system has gone on the attack. But it isn't destroying the magic. It's... It's destroying Scorpius. His own immune system is wearing him down."

"Can't you stop it?" Harry whispered.

"Not without removing his entire immune system, and then even a sneeze would kill him within... hours. He'd have to spend years in isolation until we could be sure that his magic wouldn't be treated as a virus and that's no kind of a life. It's up to you, of course." Now her gaze went to Draco. "But if you had us do that, there's a strong chance that you'd never be able to hold your son again." The "he may as well be dead" hung heavy and unspoken.

Draco's entire body froze, his breathing practically still as a pregnant pause hung in the air. He stood up, albeit on violently shaky legs, but he steeled himself, swallowing loudly. "M-May I have a moment?" He turned without an answer, walking down the hallway that led to Scorpius's bedroom.

Harry watched him go. "What about removing his magic?" he whispered. "Or repressing it like they did with Draco?"

Hermione shook her head. "What they did with Draco was binding his magic to his wand. If he didn't have his wand, he didn't have magic. A wand will not choose Scorpius until he's older, so there's no way to do that. And removing his magic entirely... That may have worked before he started showing the symptoms, but at this point the strain on his body would kill him immediately."

"So... so there's... nothing?" Hermione's silence was enough of an answer for Harry, who buried his face in his hands.

Draco knocked on Scorpius's door softly, smiling, almost grimacing, at the sight of his son playing in his bright blue room. Draco made sure it was the best when he was born. Bright blue walls splattered with white fluffy clouds and little snitches dashing in and out on the ceiling, the walls. Scorpius adored them when he was a little, as Draco charmed them to move. But, after he lost his magic, Draco made sure to entertain Scorpius with toys. Snitch plushes, broomstick toys, unicorn plushies and toy wands. Anything the child could want, anything that Draco could afford, he got. As Draco and Astoria went through their divorce, Draco mostly kept Scorpius to himself so the little child really had no need for any of the toys as much when his dad played with him 24/7, and now that Draco found out there was little to no hope for his son, that's what he would do.

"H-Hey, Scorp. Can daddy play with you?"

"Of course!" Scorpius smiled, playing on the plush white rug of his floor, moving Perry around animatedly to defend the Hogwarts castle look-alike that Scorpius loved since it was made out of charms that allowed the Whomping Willow and the windows inside to reflect moving people. It was Astoria's final gift to her child.

"I don't want my child going anywhere then the best. And seeing as we both attended Hogwarts, I find it fitting that he should follow in our footsteps."

That had been one week before he'd found Scorpius coughing up blood all over his bed. That was a day Draco would never forget...


	5. Keepsake

Chapter 5

_Keepsake_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

That had been one week before he'd found Scorpius coughing up blood all over his bed. That was a day Draco would never forget...

-

Draco was awoken quickly by a house-elf shaking his shoulder chanting "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy!" And before he could bring himself to answer, he heard it - a horrible retching noise echoed across the wing of the Manor he was in, shocking Draco up from his bed and looking over to the other side. Astoria lay asleep, calm and pristine as she normally was when awake. Draco shot out of bed, rushing to the door of his bedroom and flinging it open, not caring about the loud bang! it created as he ran down the hallway. He followed the only light in the hallway, a doorway right at the end, shining bright.

He stopped in shock at the door to his son's large bedroom, gaping. Scorpius lay in bed, a House-elf having turned the lamps on in his room to reveal Scorpius coughing violently, his clean white shirt drenched in a dark liquid.

Draco's heart stopped. "Scorpius!" He instantly rushed inside, kneeling next to his son and lifting his head, swallowing back the bile that rose in his own throat as blood dripped from between his fingers. "Gemma!" he commanded to the House-Elf, acting on instinct. "Get a Healer, immediately!"

That night, Draco spent long hours holding his son against his chest and combing fingers through his hair, whispering soft words of reassurance in his ear as he was cleaned up of all the blood and checked over by a Healer that had run, frantic, into the room a few moments after Gemma disapparated from the room.

Astoria had spoken nine words to the room, not addressing her husband, nor her violently sick son. "I will not have a defect as a child." She turned, storming out and back to the bedroom. That night she packed her bags and left, papers filing for divorce appearing on the kitchen table the next morning. Scorpius had only just fallen asleep after the coughing fit had stopped and a Healer helped pour a calming draught as well as a dreamless sleep down the child's throat.

That had been the beginning of the end, if you will.

Now Draco sat down next to Scorpius, tears pouring from his eyes as Scorpius crawled in his lap, dragging along the few plush toys he was playing with. He wrapped his arm tightly around his son, a few, quiet sobs wracking his chest. Scorpius paused in his playing, looking up at his daddy with wide eyes, innocent and scared. "D-Daddy? What's wrong?"

"O-Oh Scorpius... I-I'm so... so sorry..."

It was a few minutes later that Harry came in, swallowing hard as he gazed down at the pair. Silent tears still streamed down Draco's face, dripping from his chin to the very confused, very worried boy in his lap. Harry's hand tightened its grip on the doorknob for a fleeting moment while he pulled himself together. They couldn't scare the boy. He wouldn't understand, not really.

So Harry walked in and lifted Scorpius, pulling Draco to his feet at the same time. "Come on," he whispered. "Scorpius, Hermione needs to see you for just one second. Okay? I'll take care of Draco."

"N-No! Daddy! What's wrong!"

Draco shook his head towards the brunette, pulling Scorpius back in to his arms with a small tug and cradling him to his chest. "He needs to know, Potter, even if it's just a small detail." He prided himself on the fact that his voice did not shake. Walking over to the bright white and blue bed, Draco sat down with Scorpius in his lap. He wiped at his tears, giving himself a moment to calm down - even if only slightly. "S-Scorpius. There is something I need to tell you..." The child gave a small nod, eyes wide as he gazed up at his father, hands against his chest. "You... You..." He swallowed audibly. "You're very sick Scorpius, and me, Harry, and Mrs. Weasley are going to do our b-best to find out what is w-wrong, but for now you might not get any better. But I want you to know that we are trying o-our hardest, okay?" He cradled the boy to his chest who took all the information in with a silent reverie.

"O-Okay, daddy... I..." He wiggled out of Draco's arms, giving him a stern glare (as stern as a five year old who had one year to live could possibly even look) and crossed his arms over his little chest. "I trust you daddy! I know you'll make me better! Hmph."

Harry reached out, running his fingers through Scorpius's soft hair. "You're a really brave boy, Scorpius."

Scorpius smiled quietly. "I know. I had to be brave for daddy. Daddy always told me about how he had to be brave when he was my age and-and-and-" He stood on Draco's lap, wrapping his arms around his father's neck and hugging him tightly. "And I wanna be just like you when I'm older, daddy. I wanna be brave and smart!"

When he was older... Harry looked at Draco, swallowing hard. "Hermione really does need to see him," he said quietly. "Another scan like yesterday."

Draco nodded, pressing a lingering kiss to Scorpius's head and closing his eyes, breathing deeply. "I love you, Scorpius. So much." The whisper was soft, almost unheard by the occupant across the room.

"I love you too, daddy." After a few minutes, Scorpius climbed down from Draco's lap and wobbled out of the room after giving Harry's leg a hug, almost not coming up to Harry's knee.

Harry let him go, striding to Draco and pressing him close in a tight hug. "Hermione thinks there's something else she can do. She's not giving up. I'm not either. We'll help him fight this, Draco."

Draco's arms almost instinctively wrapped around Harry's torso, head pressed against a muscled stomach. "I-I know... it's just... five years? And only one year of life left? All he wants to do is play Quidditch, g-go to Hogwarts..."

"He will," Harry promised. "He'll be fantastic. The professors are bound to adore him - who wouldn't? And everything'll be just fine. He will go to Hogwarts. He has a future."

Draco let out a sardonic laugh. "Let's just get past the next year, alright Potter? I'd like to get past that first before I focus on Hogwarts and classes and books and... crushes. Bloody hell." His head thumped back against Harry's stomach.

With a small smile, Harry rubbed his back. "Then let's just take it a day a time."

He gave a small nod, standing up and resting his chin a top Harry's head, a small chuckle escaping his lips at the awkward height difference. "Okay, okay." Sucking in a shaky breath, he exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slowly. "You really need to stop being my knight in shining armour."

"But I'm clearly excellent at it." He tilted his head back, smiling.

Draco rolled his eyes, an expression of warmth, of laughter, taking over his face as he leaned down, pressing his lips to Harry's softly. "Oh shut it, Potter." He murmured.

Harry teasingly stuck out his tongue. "Prat."

Draco raised a pale blonde eyebrow. "Oh, am I now?"

"Oh, Draco. Once a prat, always a prat." He grinned, fingers curling into the blonde's shirt. "Maybe some of my own sparkling personality will rub off on you. If you're lucky, of course."

He tilted his head, a small meek smile pushing at his lips. "If I'm lucky?" He pulled the Gryffindor flush against him. "I think I'm lucky enough, thank you."

Harry gazed at him beneath half-lowered lids, eyes dark and amused. "You sure about that, Malfoy?"

Malfoy licked at his lips, leaning down to nip at Harry's ear, whispering huskily. "I'd be careful, Potter. You never know what might happen when hanging around a Malfoy." His fingers carted lightly under Harry's t-shirt, nails grazing over his back like brushes of air.

"It's Potters you should watch out for," Harry replied, hands sliding down Draco's back to cup his arse. He give it a firm squeeze, biting his lip. "We move quickly when we want something."

Draco's breath hitched before he pulled the lobe of Potter's ear between his teeth, grinding his hips against the shorter male's and leaning down to nip and suck at his neck, leaving a few deep red marks in his delicious sun-kissed skin.

"Well then," he murmured lowly, "we're just a pair people will have to watch out for." He pulled Harry's shirt down over his shoulder and bit down almost harshly, leaving a blooming purple mark. "Aren't we?"

"At least..." Harry moaned, hips bucking up into Draco's. "At least we can certainly handle each other."

He let out a quiet, strangled sound, hands clawing down lightly to grab at Harry's arse, pushing their hips together and sucking at Harry's neck intently. "We better," his voice rasped.

"Godric, Draco." His hands dug more firmly into the blonde's deliciously pert arse, keeping him as close as possible as he writhed against him as well as he could in this position.

Draco managed to collect himself enough so that could grab Harry's face and devour his mouth with a soft moan.

Harry's head fell back after a moment, breaking the kiss. "Tonight," he said, voice low and husky, "after Scorpius goes to sleep, we're going to find out just how much we can handle."

Draco gave a small start, covering it by nipping at Harry's chin, hands caressing every inch of soft, supple skin his greedy, nimble fingers could reach. "You sure you can even handle the thought, Potter?" he murmured, caressing stomach as he pressed their lips together. "You're shaking at the knees."

Harry hooked his leg around Draco's and curled his fingers into his shirt, pinning him on his back on the bed in one quick flip. He pressed their hips together, his own grinding down, and his teeth went at Draco's neck in quick little nips. "I think I just might be able to."

Draco let out a strangled moan, rutting up against Harry's hips and pulling him down to devour his lips in a kiss. "I take back - what I said." He nipped harshly at the others lips, hands tugging through straggled strands of brown hair. "You're going to be the death of me, Potter."

Harry let out a breathless laugh, teeth latching onto Draco's neck. His hands slid down and beneath the blonde's shirt, moving quickly over the heated skin.

"Harry!" A voice called from the living room, jerking Draco violently back to reality and jerking out from below the brunette.

"Godric," Harry muttered, getting to his feet and smiling at Draco. "The timing around here's horrid."

Draco chuckled breathlessly, trying to get some semblance of order over his clothes and hair. "Y-Yes, that's what happens when you have a rampant five year old. Be glad he sleeps like a log."

"I'll believe that when the door doesn't swing open tonight while I'm buried inside you." With a rather pleased smile, Harry walked out. His hair and clothes no more rumpled than usual. The little marks on his neck, though... He lifted a hand to them and his smile widened. "Yeah, Hermione?"

"Just letting you know that I'm going. Tomorrow I'll come by with a list of potions I want Scorpius to start taking. They'll be better than the Muggle vitamins." She smiled at the boy. "Thank you very much for letting me examine you, Scorpius."

The little boy giggled, nodded, and ran over to Harry, hugging his leg tightly. "There were so many pretty colours!" Scorpius laughed, dancing around with a finger pointed in the air, making 'swoosh' noises as if to signal a wand casting a spell.

"Oh really, Scorpius?" Draco spoke up from behind the brunette, brushing past him with the simplest of touches.

Harry smiled at him and Hermione's brows winged up and disappeared beneath her bangs. Well. That explained what they'd been doing. She sent Harry a knowing look just to watch him squirm, and laughed quietly when he did. "There were plenty of colors, yes. No more than yesterday, though."

Knowing that to be a good sign, Harry smiled. "Good."

"Yes." Her smile warmed. "Draco, you were always rather good at potions. Are you willing to make some of these yourself?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes. Anything." He looked down at Scorpius, hope beginning to bubble in his chest before it was viciously squashed. No, no. One step at a time, just like Harry said. "I'll need a list of the names and maybe ingredients if you have them. If not, I'll find them."

"I'll bring you what you need tomorrow afternoon. I'm being sent on maternity leave soon, so I'll be able to focus on him more." She ruffled the boy's hair, smiling. "Draco... You really have done an amazing job with him."

The elder blonde blushed, ducking his head as he pulled Scorpius against his leg, gently running his fingers through soft locks that only a child could have. "T-Thank you, Gran... Hermione. I tried." Scorpius smiled, tilting his head up to gaze at his daddy far up above him.

"You're excellent at trying, then." She smiled, taking up a bit of floo powder. "And don't break Harry, alright? I'm rather fond of him." And with a laugh, she was gone.

Harry only grinned. "Think you can break me, Malfoy?"

Draco laughed warmly, shaking his head as Scorpius ran off, Draco keeping a warm, silver-hued eye on him. "At this point, I think you're going to break me, Potter."

"I'll give it my best shot at least." Harry's grin widened. "How long before Scorpius's bedtime?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Keep it in your pants, Potter. Merlin." He walked off in to the kitchen after (albeit extremely giddily) casting a quick tempus charm with his wand. "It's ten past five so not for another four hours at least." He disappeared behind the warm-toned red wall and into the kitchen.

"I like that you felt the need to check the time." Harry followed, wrapping his arms around Draco from behind. "Going to use your wand like a giddy seventeen year old that just got the Trace taken off?"

He hummed contently, leaning back against the Quidditch-strengthened grip, allowing his eyes to slip closed. "I think I'm allowed to be slightly giddy, Potter. I'm going to get laid, my wand is back in my possession, my magic isn't a ticking time bomb inside of my body waiting to explode, and my child has a chance of coming back from the brink of death. I think that warrants me to be a bit gitty."

"Oh, there we go. I was wondering when I'd see the Draco Malfoy I remembered." He turned his head, nipping at the blonde's neck. "He's sexier than I recall."

Draco tilted his head to the side, showing an expanse of silky white skin. "Oh really? And what did you think of the so-called 'previous' Draco?" He purred, pushing his hips back against Harry's with a small roll.

"Thought he was a rather irritating prat, all pale and pointy and bossy." Harry bit into his neck, sucking at the raised skin. "And bloody snarky. I used to want to bite his mouth to shut him up."

A strangled moan escaped his lips. "I have a feeling he would of loved to see you try." He hissed at a particularly harsh bite, arching his back slightly.

"Bugger, Draco. If I would've thought for even a second that I could bite at you without getting hexed sideways, I would have done it." He pushed Draco's shirt up, licking at the exposed skin of his back.

He swallowed audibly and groaned, craning his neck back as his lips parted to let out shaky breaths of air. "While you're down there, Potter," he chuckled lowly, moaning enthusiastically. "Mind giving me a hand?" He ground his hips back against Harry's, shuddering at the contact.

"Merlin, yes." Harry snatched up his wand and sent a spell down the hall that would let them both know if Scorpius started their way and put it back away before sliding his hands around Draco's waist. He pressed the heel of one hand against the bulge, scraped his teeth along Draco's spine.

Draco let out a low, guttural moan, pressing his hips firmly against Harry's hand and reaching behind him to tug a hand through Harry's hair. "M-Merlin- Potter-" he moaned wantonly.

"This you can pay back in all the ways you want," Harry assured him, undoing the button and dragging down the zip. He palmed Draco's stiffened cock through the boxers he wore beneath - of course they'd be silk - and lifted his head to bite into the blonde's neck.

Draco tugged at Harry's hair, titling his head at an awkward angle and smashing their lips together, devouring Harry in a kiss as he rutted against the brunette's hand, moaning at the heat of his calloused fist against his cock.

Groaning into Draco's mouth, Harry pushed the boxers down to better grasp his shaft, thumb rubbing against the head. His other hand clung to the blonde's hip.

"Harry..." The blonde groaned, arching his back and not caring about anything but the feeling of that glorious hand on his cock as he watched Harry's fist move up and down along his length, stroking faster and faster.

Dropping his mouth to Draco's shoulder, Harry bit in. A wandless spell slicked his hand, so he was able to grip a little firmer and move a little faster.

Draco thrusted his hips against Harry's hand, breaths coming in short gasps as moans slipped from between kiss swollen lips. "O-Oh gods... Merlin..."

"Let go," Harry breathed, nibbling his earlobe. "Let me hear the sound you make when you let go."

Draco groaned lightly, turning his body just so to rest his forehead against Harry's, his fingers digging in to sun-kissed shoulders as his hips jerked forward, the sound of skin slapping skin echoing through the kitchen. "Harry," he gasped, chest heaving, sweat trickling lightly against his forehead as his blonde bangs swayed in his face.

"Sweet Merlin, you're gorgeous," Harry managed, closing both hands over Draco's shaft to double his efforts.

Panting harshly, chest heaving, Draco leaned down and bit harshly against Harry's shoulder, moaning at the small tinge of blood that touched his lips as he dragged his nails lightly over Harry's chest, his hips jerking forward harshly with every ragged breath.

Harry made a sound that was akin to a whimper, dropping one hand to his own jeans, pushing them low on his hips. He grasped his own leaking cock and gasped. "Bloody fuck," he hissed, knees quivering.

Draco reached down, hand shaking as he wrapped it around Potter's leaking prick, jerking him roughly, hands slicked with sweat as he lapped and nipped at his neck, breathing beginning to come harshly as he felt himself rapidly coming closer to the edge.

Harry's head tilted automatically, providing Draco with better access. His own orgasm was coming in leaps and bounds. His glasses were slipping, but he ignored them, rocking his hips forward into Draco's long-fingered hand.

Grabbing Harry's glasses from his face, he dropped them to the kitchen table behind them, leaning forward and smashing their lips together, tongue delving in immediately as he felt his orgasm curling in his stomach. "H-Harry-!" he moaned gutturally, hand moving faster and his grip tightening as his thumb swiped over the head of Harry's cock, his hips jerking forward.

Harry couldn't see a thing beyond Draco's face and was completely and wholeheartedly alright with that. He dragged his teeth over the man's bottom lip. "Close," he gasped. "Merlin, Draco."

Draco jerked his head in the form of a nod, pressing their lips together before his whole body jerked, white bursting behind his eyelids as he came with a loud moan of "Harry!" His hand tightening mercilessly around Harry's cock.

His own orgasm tearing through him, Harry's teeth sank roughly into Draco's lip, the hand not around his prick stealing into his hair to grip fiercely.

Draco felt Harry's orgasm, his lip and hand covered in warm liquid as he panted harshly against Harry's chest, forehead resting on a sweat-slicked shoulder. "M-Merlin..." he panted quietly.

Harry sank down to the floor because standing was suddenly way too much effort and brought Draco with him. Unable to form a complete sentence just yet, he smiled a little devilishly and began sucking Draco's release from his fingers, taking his time and watching the other all the while.

The disheveled blonde groaned, leaning forward and pulling Harry's hand closer, taking a small lick of his covered finger before humming in pleasure and leaning forward, leaning over Quidditch toned legs and whispering against Harry's lips. "How do I taste, Potter?"

"Disgusting," he teased before licking the blonde's lips.

Draco leaned forward, pressing their lips together, his tongue coming to swipe out against Harry's battered and bruised lips. "Sorry about that. Guess we'll just have to stop if I taste so disgusting then, won't we?"

"Not on your life, Malfoy. I plan on doing a lot more tasting soon. And a lot more other stuff as well." Harry leaned back against table leg, trailing his fingers over Draco's chest. The shirt was very easily vanished so he could roam over bared flesh, and he wondered why he hadn't thought of that sooner. "You really are gorgeous."

He chuckled warmly, crawling forward on hands and knees to lay against Harry's chest, between his legs, head resting right over a sure-beating heart. "I know." He gazed at the both of them, starting from their feet (which we're an odd length apart due to the apparent height difference between the love- dear Merlin. They were lovers, weren't they?) and all the way up to Harry's chin, leaving a small kiss against a stubble-grown feature. "What does this make us?" he muttered quietly after a few tense moments... for himself anyway.

"Hm?" Distracted from his own thoughts, the hand that had been stroking Draco's back paused. "Almost-lovers, I reckon. Hopefully the 'almost' can get dropped tonight because I would very much like to make love to you, Draco."

The fingers tracing random patterns over the arm that was locked securely around his waist froze. "L-Love?" His whisper was low, almost a simple breath from between his lips. He truly hoped to Salazar that Harry couldn't feel his heart pounding against his chest.

That arm tightened its grip ever-so-slightly. Had he said the wrong thing? He hadn't quite figured out the labels for them himself yet, so what they did together felt like it mattered. Harry had long ago given up questioning every single emotion he felt, had learned to trust himself. "Yeah," he murmured.

Draco swallowed, sitting up and turning his body around, ignoring their nakedness he reached out and caressed Harry's face softly. His eyes were warm yet guarded, as if the walls of Azkaban had been knocked down just to be rebuilt as if made from owl feathers. "Y-You love me?" Right now, at this moment, he didn't care if his voice shook. If he finally had a chance, no matter how marginally small, to finally find a love that he just knew would work, he would take it. Pride be damned. It's not like he had much left as a vault-empty, property-stolen, wifeless Malfoy with a sick child. Scorpius was enough for him. But this..

Harry lifted a hand to the one at his face, held it there. "I know I love your son. And I know I've never felt this much or exactly this way with anyone else, never wanted to do more for someone. Ron says I have a saving people complex." He smiled slightly. "But this goes beyond that. I need to help, just to make you happy. If I don't love you, I'm falling fast."

There was a moments hesitation before Draco leaned forward and sealed there lips together in a kiss that made fire boil through his veins, warming him from head to toe. The kiss left something of a promise on Draco's heart as his lips moved against the brunette's.

Sinking into the kiss, Harry twined his arms around the blonde and held on. Warmth flooded him, had him moaning softly into Draco's mouth even as his tongue slipped between his lips.

Draco's breathing was short as he took in the heady smell of grass, blueberries, cinnamon and something that uniquely fit the wondrous, gorgeous man in his arms. "H-Harry," he gasped quietly, heart pounding. "S-Scorpius needs to be put to bed."

"Thought it was too early," Harry reminded him, holding him tightly. "But Teddy was still taking naps at Scorpius's age. Think we can manage that?"

His heart thundered in his chest, "I think we might be able to." He gave a soft laugh, "but he still needs a bath. And well.." he pressed a small kiss to the corner of Harry's mouth, intertwining their fingers. "You've seen how that works."

"Cheat?" he said hopefully. "Couple of cleaning charms and we'll give him a real bath in the morning."

Draco sighed softly, caressing Harry's cheek with a warm palm. "I wish we could, but that amount of magic working on him only makes him get violently nauseated and his skin will break out in a small rash in the most atrocious places for a five year old to have to bare." He pressed his lips to a sweat-soaked forehead. "I'll have to give him a bath; sorry, love." The name slipped out before a conscious thought followed, freezing Draco in his spot.

Harry only smiled, touching his hand. "I understand. It's fine." He took Draco's hand from his cheek, pressed a kiss to the palm. "It's not like I'll want you less if we wait a bit."

He gave a quick roll of warm silver eyes before standing, pulling himself completely away from the brunette and walking the few feet across the kitchen to grab his wand and re-conjure his shirt, readjusting himself and zipping his trousers back up before sending a small smirk Harry's way. "You might want to dress again before you traumatize my poor innocent five year old."

Smiling, Harry got to his feet and zipped up his jeans. "Want to clean us up with your shiny little wand?" he teased.

Draco smirked, leaning back against the counter and running a hand through his tousled hair. "And what do I get out of that? You seem to forget, dear Harry, that I'm a sneaky little Slytherin, and we don't do anything without getting something in return."

"Maybe I'll show you all the interesting things I can do with my tongue," Harry offered, smile going wry.

The blonde let out a haughty laugh, pushing away from the counter and grabbing Harry by the shoulder, he pulled him close and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. "Can't wait. But for now we have a five year old to bathe before he gets suspicious about where his daddy disappeared to." Giving Harry's shoulder a small shove, he walked around him and cancelled the charms Harry had placed with a small, giddy flick of his wand.

Harry gave a small start before smiling widely and trailing behind the blonde. Bath time. Let the fun ensue.


	6. Golden Delicious

Chapter 6

_Golden Delicious_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

" _No!_ "

Draco grumbled something, rolling his mercury coloured eyes as he gazed at Scorpius fondly, the little boy hiding behind a rather large plush lion named Rumbleroar, hiding away from his father and doubling his efforts to in-fact not take a bath as he did not stink. "Scorpius," Draco chided, his tone relaxed.

Harry leaned against the doorjamb, watching as he had been for the past fifteen minutes. As well-behaved as Scorpius was about everything else, he was... devilish about this. Finally, he decided to step in. "Scorp, c'mon, your bath with me wasn't so bad was it? You didn't get dizzy at all."

The little blonde child pouted, shaking his head adamantly and pushing the overly-large lion farther in front of him. "N-No!"

Draco sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It was days like these that he wondered why he had a child. He adored Scorpius, don't worry about that, but it was days like these that happened once in a blue moon where Scorpius didn't cooperate. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you will come to the bathroom this instant or no more apples for a week." He knew that was low, even for himself. Scorpius adored apples, and there was nothing that Draco liked to do more than spoil his precious son (even if he did have a very clear head on his albeit frail, and weak shoulders) but Draco was a little more on the... _tense_ and high-strung side tonight and he just wanted to put Scorpius to bed and hopefully "lose himself in the throes of passion" as he animatedly told himself.

"C'mon, Scorpius." Harry walked into the room, brushing a hand soothingly over the back of Draco's neck. "What if I could charm Perry and make him waterproof? I bet he'd enjoy a bath."

Scorpius blinked, looking like he thinking the decision over in his little blonde head before giving a small huff. "And there will be lots of bubbles? And a ducky?" Draco smirked. So that's where the Malfoy line went.

He shuddered at the small touch from Harry, leaning back ever-so slightly and answering Scorpius in a muted tone. "Yes Scorp, duckies and bubbles. But not unless we take a bath now."

"There, see? Plenty of reasons to take a bath." Harry grinned at the boy. "It'll be fun."

After a few tense moments of silence, Scorpius shuffled out from behind the large lion, slowly making his way towards Harry and Draco by the door. "Okay... as long as I get apples."

"You will get plenty of apples," Harry assured him, hiking him up and settling the boy on his hip.

Scorpius's face broke out in a wide smile, his hands clamping around Harry as if all you had to do was flick a light switch and the child went from brooding and unwilling to willing to jump in to the bathtub all 'gung-ho' with his clothes still on. "Alright Scorp, let's go give you a bath." Draco chuckled.

Harry grinned, jiggling him lightly before leaning forward and placing a light kiss on Draco's lips. He figured if he was going to be sticking around, Scorpius should get used to it.

Scorpius giggled, poking his daddy's stomach who gave a small 'oof!' and pointed dramatically to the bathroom. "To the bath!" he cheered, but alas, with his missing tooth it came out "To zeh baf!" But Draco smiled warmly and ruffled his hair none-the-less, following Harry as he walked with Scorpius out of the room.

"You want to handle this yourself?" Harry asked, glancing back at Draco. "Or can I help?"

Draco raised an eyebrow, opening the door to the bathroom and waving Harry inside. "You'd like to help? Please do." He pulled his wand out of his pocket and waved it at the tub, heating the already filled basin of water and allowing bottles of bubbles, red and blue, orange, pink and green came to dump soap into the tub, bubbles springing to life over the top of the water.

Harry laughed, setting Scorpius down to tug off his shirt. He ignored the pang at seeing the too-thin frame. "A spell for every occasion, Draco?"

The elder blonde snorted in amusement, rolling up the sleeves to his long sleeved shirt before he realized what he was doing, the Dark Mark reflecting gruesomely against the bathroom light, in full, twisted view of Harry's emerald eyes in the too small bathroom.

Harry's eyes were drawn immediately to it. He'd seen it already, yes, but it was harsher in the small room and brought memories Harry would sooner forget, had spent years trying to forget. He looked away quickly, smiled at Scorpius. "Pants off," he instructed, "and into the tub with you."

Draco instantly rolled his sleeve back down, cursing himself inwardly for his stupidity as he grabbed a few ducks from the box of toys near the bath and charmed some of them to float around and spray water as well as accio'ing Perry before turning back to Scorpius and helping the little boy get his pants off with a small smile. "Careful, Scorp."

Harry charmed the little unicorn to make him waterproof and dropped him onto a duck. It bobbed and weaved, clearly offended to have something on it, and began to swim a bit faster to get the heavy thing off. The brunette laughed, kneeling down by the tub, his hand brushing Draco's leg as he went.

Draco gave a small start and shudder before gently picking Scorpius up and placing him slowly in the tub, allowing his body to get used to the temperature change. He sat on the edge of the toilet, smiling at his son as he splashed around contently for a few moments.

Smiling, Harry scooted to sit at Draco's feet, a hand resting on his knee.

Draco combed a hand through Harry's hair, leaning down to press a kiss to his temple before reaching in to the tub and poking Scorpius' forehead. "Okay, Scorp, eyes closed." He smiled softly, reaching over and grabbing a small red bottle and squirting a small amount of shampoo onto his hand, gently combing his fingers through the little boy's hair.

Harry looked from one blonde to the other, trying in vain to decide which was more precious. Scorpius with his childish charm, his surprising verve, and his absolute sweetness. And then, of course, Draco. So different from their school days, it seemed, but Harry knew the snark was still there from the few times it had come out. A gorgeous man, a clearly wonderful father... And Harry was looking forward to discovering what kind of lover. Smiling, he rested his cheek on Draco's calf.

Draco took a small bowl, looking to be made out of some form of plastic and filled it with water, covering Scorpius's eyes and dumping it over his head. Repeating this a few times, he put the bowl back at the edge of the shiny white tub and allowed Scorpius to play for a few more minutes. ...Draco froze.

Water dripped from his face, landing against the collar of his shirt. Scorpius looked up from the bath, cheeks red with laughter as he splashed his father again with a flick of his fingers. Draco quickly let out a warm bout of laughter, reaching over and splashing Scorpius with a small spray of water, the rubber ducklings joining in the fun and spraying water around. Cheers and laughter rang through the bathroom. But, the two Malfoy's froze after a moment's play. Scorpius's hands clasping over his mouth, eyes wide as a particularly large wave of water hit Harry in the face. "O-Oh-!" The little boy squeaked.

Harry blinked rapidly, wiping tendrils of hair out of his face before laughing. "Am I under attack?" he teased, a jet of water shooting from his wand and soaking the two Malfoys.

"H-Haarrry!" Scorpius and Draco both whined, wiping water from their faces and laughing, their equally bright blonde hair falling to frame their faces as they each scooped water in to their hands and flung it. Scorpius using both hands to fling soapy water at the two adults and Draco flinging water at Scorpius. A large splash fest ensuing that had Harry and Draco soaked to the bone, Scorpius grinning widely and laughing, his little chest rising and falling, his body shaking with giggles.

Laughing, Harry peeled off his soaked shirt and let it fall to the floor with a wet plop. "I don't think I've ever gotten so wet during someone else's bath," he remarked and caught Scorpius just over his heart with another bit of water.

The little boy giggled, playing around for a few more minutes as Draco peeled his shirt off, throwing it on top of Harry's and reaching for a few towels that rested against the basin of the toilet. He rubbed the towel over his hair for a few moments, his face, his chest before reaching down and plopping the towel on top of the brunette's hair, gently rubbing it over the wet locks as Scorpius's giggles echoed throughout the bathroom.

Harry squeezed Draco's knee, pleased and smiling under the towel. "Once Scorpius actually gets in the tub, he takes to it like a fish."

Scorpius made a fish face in response, pressing his hands against his slightly reddened cheeks and pursing his lips. "Fishy!" he mumbled, giggling as he blew water from between his lips.

The brunette looked over, laughing aloud. Godric, he was adorable. He just couldn't - no. No, Harry quickly cut those thoughts off. He didn't want them to temper everything he did with the boy with thoughts of what was to come if there truly wasn't a cure.

Scorpius splashed around for a few more moments, Draco gazing upon him fondly as he carted a hand through Harry's still damp hair. "Okay, Scorp, time to rinse off then get out." The little boys answering pout was adorable.

Harry laughed again. "You can have another bath tomorrow."

Scorpius grumbled something as Draco dumped a little more water over his head before holding his arms out. The elder Malfoy lifted him up, a towel already placed on his water soaked pants. He wrapped the white fluffy monster of a towel around Scorpius, drying his hair off with an edge of it, a warm smile on his lips as he mumbled soft words to the pouting child.

Harry watched, smiling warmly at the pair of them. The bathroom was cleaned and dried with a couple of quick, murmured spells and his wand tucked away once more.

Draco placed Scorpius back on the ground, his little body wrapped in a fluffy towel that almost devoured the poor five year old. "Okay, Scorp," he murmured, "go pick out some pajamas." The little boy smiled, nodded and rushed off, careful not to drip over the towel as he barrelled in to his room.

Harry reached out, twining his arms around the man. "You're all wet."

Draco chuckled, the sound rumbling in his throat. "So are you." He turned in Harry's arms, wrapping his own around the smaller man's waist and pressing their lips together. "Why don't you go make sure Scorpius gets his pajamas on, okay, and I'll go get his vitamins?" he mumbled against the Savior's lips.

"I can manage that," he murmured, tongue sliding slowly over Draco's lips.

The blonde let out a strangled moan, pushing Harry away with a small, withheld look of something almost wild in his eyes. "Y-You're going to be the death of me at this rate." He gave the brunette a little shove. "Off to the child with you!"

Harry's smile was slow. "I won't kill you so easily, Draco. I want you alive to experience all the things I'm looking forward to doing to you." With an amused salute, he walked out of the small room and down the hall to help Scorpius.

The blonde smacked his arse on the way out of the bathroom, turning and heading towards the kitchen to grab Scorpius's vitamins with rampant thoughts stampeding through his head of everything he was looking forward to having done to him.

Harry was smiling widely as he caught Scorpius from behind, swinging him up and around. "Did you pick out pajamas?"

Scorpius's shrieks of laughter rang out through the apartment as he wiggled wildly in Harry's arms. "Haarrryy!" The little boy giggled, clasping his hands around the bigger wizard's ones around his waist. "Yes!"

"Where are they?" Harry asked, pretending to chomp on his neck. "There on the bed?"

Scorpius giggled wildly, flailing around and nodding his head. "Yup! Yup! Lions! Roaaaarr!" The little child imitated a lions roar as he pointed towards the lion covered onesie on his bed.

Laughing, Harry bounced him on the bed and plucked up the pajamas. "Kings of the jungle, lions. There's nothing braver."

"Except maybe a snake." Draco spoke from the doorway, his heart fluttering at the sight of the man he felt himself falling for, and fast, and his baby boy. There was just something that seemed to fit seeing the two play together, Scorpius held high up in the air and bounced on the bed, Harry's laughter echoing around the room.

"A brave snake?" Harry tossed a wry grin over his shoulder. "Snake's may be cunning and ambitious, but bravery isn't exactly their thing."

Scorpius giggled, his hands covering his mouth to try and hide the sounds of laughter.

"I think I was very brave during a few years at Hogwarts, Potter." The blonde smirked, sauntering his way in to the bedroom and giving a small, smiling glance towards his little giggling blonde on the bed. "Oh, and what are you giggling at my dear little son?" Draco laughed warmly. "You're a snake down to your little white bones."

"That's what you think. He'd make a fine Gryffindor." He started to help Scorpius into the onesie, smile fond. "I'll help see to that."

Draco gave a pause, tilting his head with a fond grin pushing at his lips. He'll see to that? "Oh really, Potter? You make it sound like you'll be here for a very long time." He crossed his arms over his chest as if to show that he was indifferent over the situation when in fact his heart was pounding so violently it could have jumped out of his chest. He hoped Harry would be here for a long while, he was certain.

"Depends how long I'm wanted, doesn't it?" Harry hid his smile by burying his face into the child's hair.

Scorpius giggled. "Stay! Stay!" he chanted as he tugged the onesie out from under him and proceeded to try and wrangle the thing on to his feet.

"Well Potter, I have to take my child in to account first, don't I? It seems you're wanted to stay." Draco spoke lightly, his tone full of love for the small bundle of feet and flailing hands on the bed, and for the handsome - gorgeous brunette a few feet away.

With a soft laugh, Harry helped him into the thing. "Draco, I've got Teddy for a few days next week. Ah... Maybe he and Scorpius should meet? I mean, well..." He trailed off for a moment, unsure if he should've even brought this up. He wasn't at all sure of Draco's feelings regarding his Aunt Andromeda. "He's your little cousin and all."

He hummed contemplatively for a few moments. "I don't see why not. Hey Scorpius, how about a picnic?" The words sounded almost Muggle coming from his lips, Draco not even blinking his eyes at the thought.

"Yay! Picnic! Picnic!"

"Is that alright with you, Harry?"

His smile blossomed slowly and warmly, gazing at the other man. "That's excellent."

Draco nodded, hefting Scorpius in to his arms and holding him against his hip as he brandished another small red cup like the one Harry had seen on his first day with the Malfoy family. "Okay, little one." Scorpius took the cup in to his hands, reaching in and pulling out a little gummy, chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Maybe this'll be the last night you have to have those, Scorpius." Harry smiled.

The little child giggled happily, throwing his hands up in the air. "Yay! They're icky." He stuck his tongue out, his bright silver eyes crinkling around the edges.

Draco smiled, shaking his head and taking the, thankfully empty, cup from the child's hand and giving him a small glass of water. "Drink and then bed." He chuckled.

"Does that bed order go for me too?" Harry teased, smile wicked at the edges.

Draco smirked at Scorpius's confused look. "Yes. Off to bed Potter, you shouldn't be up after curfew! What would happen if a professor saw you now? Tsk tsk, always one for breaking rules, aren't you, Potter?"

Scorpius blinked once more. "Harry can sleep here!" he gasped, almost dramatically. "He can't be in trouble!"

"I highly doubt I'll get in any sort of trouble. My school days are in the past, thankfully." He swept the child away, giving him a fond squeeze and a warm kiss to his brow. "But I'm off to bed anyway. Goodnight, Scorp."

Scorpius giggled warmly, nuzzling back against his father and waving at Harry. "Night, 'Arry!"

Draco chuckled, gently patting Scorpius's back as the little boy gave a small cough. "Okay, Scorpius, to bed." He walked over, placing him down and allowing him to snuggle under the warm, fluffy comforters before kissing his head.

Harry cast a final glance over his shoulder at them before quietly slipping out of one bedroom and directly into another. He took a moment to look around and appreciate Draco's taste while his still-damp jeans were pulled off. The boxers were taken care of with a quick drying charm before he stretched out in Draco's bed, still wearing them. May as well give him something to take off.

Back in Scorpius's bedroom, Draco was kneeling next to his son, resting against the floor and smiling at him with a calm, gentle push at his lips.

"Daddy?" The little boy mumbled from his mass of soft, fluffy pillows and warm, comforting blankets.

"Yeah, Scorp?"

"Do you love Harry?"

There was a momentary pause as Draco's thoughts danced around the question, flashes of green sparking in his mind. "Yeah, Scorp, yeah. I think I do."

"Go-" there was a yawn, "-od. Good. I like Harry."

Draco chuckled, passing a hand gently through the dozing child's hair. "Yeah Scorp, I do too." He stood after, kissing Scorpius's forehead, taking a small note in his brain if the boy felt too cool or too warm.

"Love you... daddy..."

"Love you too, Scorpius." He turned, walking out quietly after tucking Perry, who was resting against the dresser, into Scorpius's arms and shutting the lights off, leaving the door cracked marginally, and giving a small Golden Snitch that rested on the door arch a small tap. It lit up softly, and began to flutter around the room. Scorpius enjoyed that as a night light. When he was little it was charmed to alert a house elf is something was wrong with the baby, who would then alert Draco or Astoria. Mainly Draco.

Now it was just a comforting presence if Scorpius ever awoke from a bad dream.

With one fond look back at his child, the little tuft of blonde hair, Draco turned, heart giving a lurch in his chest. Now to something more... entertaining. He walked to his bedroom with an almost skip in his step.

Harry was laid back against the pillows, languidly stroking his chest when the door opened. He flicked a smile Draco's way when the door opened. "Did I beat curfew?" he teased.

A smirked pulled at Draco's lips as he shut and locked the door, casting a small silence charm with his wand before letting his eyes drift over the delicious looking body laid out over his Slytherin green sheets, the white comforter having been chucked off last night. "I'm sorry, ," Draco smirked, an almost feral look coming to his lips. "You didn't." He stalked up to the bed, pants slung tortuously low on his hips. "You'll need to be punished for breaking curfew."

Harry's legs parted invitingly, fingers trailing down and over the growing bulge in his pants. "But I'm so very sorry."

Draco crawled on to the bed, placing himself between Quidditch toned legs but too far away to touch. "I don't think sorry is going to work this time, Golden Boy." He trailed a hand lightly over taut muscles and sun-kissed skin, a pert pink tongue coming out to lick at his lips.

"Do your worst, then. I clearly deserve it." Harry arched his hips just far enough to begin inching his boxers down.

He chuckled, nipping at a prominent hipbone before flopping over next to the brunette, hands resting behind his head languidly. "Nah, I don't think I will. Not in the punishing mood today, if you understand." The 'Malfoy smirk' as it was called by a fair-few was still pushing at his lips.

"Lazy," Harry accused and his boxers vanished entirely. "Seems I'll be doing all the work." He curled his fingers around his length, languidly pumping his fist.

Draco groaned, rolling his slate silver eyes. "Learn how to take a joke, Potter." He rolled over, straddling Harry's hips after shucking away his own trousers, leaving him in just his boxers before smacking away the moving hand and replacing it with his own, slowly pumping his hand against Harry's cock. "Better?" he purred, leaning down to nip and suck at Harry's neck.

"Much," Harry praised, head tilting to grant him more access. "And I was teasing, you delicious git."

Draco chuckled, moving his lips lower and lower, gently circling a pert nipple with his tongue before blowing on it, enjoying the shudder that rippled through the body below him as he swiped his thumb over the head of Harry's cock. "Delicious, am I?"

"Your mouth, anyway. S'pose I'll have to wait my turn to get to taste the rest of you." His hands slid down, cupping Draco's arse and squeezing.

Draco let out a strangled moan, giving a particularly vicious nip to the supple skin of Harry's neck. "Impatient, aren't we?" He pressed their lips together without a second thought, another moan escaping as Harry took over his senses.

The auror rolled him over, straddling his waist, and lowering his head to sink his teeth into the blonde's neck. "A bit, yes. When's the last time you were with anyone?"

Draco swallowed, his heart catching in his throat. "U-Um..." He sighed, gently rubbing a hand up and down Harry's side. "Five years..." he whispered quietly, avoiding starring at the gorgeous brunette above him.

More than a little surprised by that, Harry framed Draco's face in his hands and lowered his lips gently. "Ever been with another bloke?"

Draco chuckled softly, sealing their lips again, a hand caressing Harry's hip with small circles. "You should of seen me in my Hogwarts days, Harry."

"I'd rather not hear names," Harry decided, nipping fondly at Draco's bottom lip. "I plan to make you forget them anyway."

Draco gave a small shudder, his voice raspy with something akin to pure want for the Boy-Who-Lived, this gorgeous brunette, emerald-eyed wizard who'd practically fallen in to his life. "L-Let's just say that most of the time I was picturing dark hair and b-bright green eyes to notice names and faces." He blushed at the admission, tilting his head away.

An admission for an admission, Harry decided and began to kiss his way down, speaking between each moist press of lips. "I didn't have anyone at school. Had other things to worry about besides dating and the fact that I was less attracted to Ron's sister the more her breasts grew. And then, of course, this blonde git I was supposed to hate kept coming into my mind every time I needed a good wank."

He chuckled, hands coming up from his sides to drift through Harry's hair and press deeply against his shoulders. "Mm, whoever this blonde git is, I'll have to thank him." His voice was heady with lust.

"I'm about to," Harry replied and slicked the flat of his tongue alongside the underside of Draco's shaft in a long, wet stroke.

The blonde let out a hoarse moan, his hips jerking in to the air as his hands came to clasp around harshly, trying to find some form of purchase to hang on to. The ending results had the blonde's hands clasped firmly on Harry's shoulder and one against the soon to be sweat soaked sheets below.

Harry took the crown into his mouth, suckling with a pleased hum as his head slowly sank lower. His hands came up, gripping Draco's hips and lifting them slightly.

Draco couldn't help himself, couldn't have been coy if his life depended on it. He moaned the other's name, shuddering at the heat that seemed to run through his veins at the simple action. "F-Fuck, Potter!"

Hearing Draco cry out like that had a shudder down Harry's own spine. He continued to suckle down until his nose brushed the golden curls at the base, hands reaching around to squeeze his arse.

Draco's legs fell open further, inviting the brunette to have his way as he sat back and tried not to almost willingly jump over the edge towards the orgasm that was quickly barreling its way through his body.

Harry gave a pleased hum, sucking hard enough to hollow his cheeks as his tongue pressed against and lapped at the shaft. A finger slid along the crack of his arse, a wordless spell slicking the digit as it slid within the tight entrance.

Draco's back arched off the bed at the odd intrusion, his body clenching tightly as he moaned at the warm suction. His fingers trailed down over his own stomach, taut with pleasure, before he tangled his fingers in disheveled hair and jerked Harry's head up, smashing their lips together.

As they kissed, tongues tangling heatedly, Harry slid a second finger in. His other hand curled into one of Draco's thighs to ease his legs further apart.

He dropped his head down to Harry's neck, kissing and biting the wizard's deliciously tanned skin, moaning as he was stretched, his body humming with the added pleasure.

Harry groaned, adding a third, thrusting finger to stretch him even further. "You're so gorgeous, Draco."

The blonde moaned wantonly, eyes clenched shut as he tried to relax his muscles at the odd intrusion. "T-thanks, you git." He chuckled, his voice raspy as he threw his head back against the pillows, back arching as white flashed behind his lids.

Godric, was he responsive. Harry lowered his head, tongue flicking over Draco's skin. He caught a nipple between his teeth, tugged at it teasingly.

"P-Potter- I swear, if we don't-" He paused, tilting his head to the side and letting out a breathy moan. "If we don't get to the shagging right now-" There were too many sensations, old and new, burning through his veins. He was achingly hard and stretched so deliciously that he just wanted to be thoroughly shagged by this gorgeous, gorgeous man.

With a breathless laugh, Harry pushed Draco's knees up to his chest. "Demanding, aren't you?" he teased, but was just as eager.

He groaned, hissing at the pleasurable ache of his muscles stretching in his legs. "Y-Yeah, yeah, Potter." His chest was heaving, strands of hair sticking to his forehead. "J-Just..." He licked his lips, eyes a molten silver as he gazed at the brunette between his legs. "Get on with it will you?" Impatient as always.

Harry eased in, groaning at that first, hot breach. "Bloody hell," he breathed.

Draco moaned, the burning stretch as he was filled was insurmountable too anything that he had come to feel before this moment. Harry filling him, stretching him wide just felt right, the feelings pounding in his chest as he grasped the sheets below him, just shattered inside. "Harry."

"Draco," Harry whispered, pausing once he was fully sheathed within. Heart hammering, he dropped his brow to the blonde's shoulder, drawing ragged breaths. "Godric, you're tight..."

Draco took in a few deep breaths, body shaking as he tried to relax at the intrusion. Salazar did the stretch, the burn of being filled feeling amazing after so long. He gave a small, shuddering moan and moved his hips, hissing at the small twinge of pain. "P-Potter... Harry..." He cracked his eyes open, giving a small kiss to the soft, sweat slicked skin in front of him. "Move."

On a groan, Harry complied. So tight, so hot. And it Draco bloody Malfoy, a teenage dream come true. He clutched the blonde's hips, keeping up a steady, albeit quickening, pace. He lifted his head and gazed at him, a dim part of him wondering where his glasses had gone and when, but even that part of his mind was drowned out as he drew closer to the edge. "Draco," he moaned. "So perfect, Draco..."

The blonde's breathing was almost near erratic, his hands lifting to grab on to Harry's ever-moving shoulders, moans escaping his lips, not withheld as Harry rocked against him. "Faster." He groaned, clenching down on the length within him, a desperate sort of moan escaping his lips as something within him was struck and stars exploded behind his vision.

Harry cried out at the sudden tightening, head falling back. "Ohh... Oh, there it is..." Panting, he rocked back and rammed against the spot again.

Draco's back arched almost violently, his legs coming to wrap around Harry's waist as they rocked together, the blonde moaning as he clung to the brunette desperately. Sensations pounded against his body, fire, heat, lust burned through his veins as he tightened around the length ramming inside him. "H-Harry..."

"Let go, Draco. I want to... unf... I want to feel you t-tighten around me." He reached down, curled his fingers around the other man's leaking prick and pumped eagerly.

His body gave a painful lurch, his vision seemed to be stained white permanently as Harry barrelled in to him, rocking against Draco as he took him in. "Harry..." he moaned the other's name, allowing whimpers to spill from his lips as he rocked back against the brunette's thrust, his orgasm curling in his stomach.

"Draco..." Harry groaned, vision hazier than it normally was without his glasses. "Now," he demanded with a deep, hard thrust.

Draco came with a violent lurch, his whole body clamping down and around the auror. His legs tightened around Harry's waist, his arms quickly going around the other's neck as his muscles tightened down like a vice around the heated length barrelling inside of him. He moaned the other's name, his eyes clenched shut as the fire in his veins seemed to explode, his orgasm rocking his body, his release sputtering against his chest.

With an outcry that made him thankful for the silencing charm Draco had used, Harry continued to thrust, his own release spilling deep within the blonde with every rock of his hips. "Draco," he chanted. "Draco, Draco, Draco..."

Said blonde fell back against the sweat-soaked sheets after a few more moments, chest heaving, body moving with the slowing thrusts from the brunette above. Head bent back and eyes closed he breathed deeply, close to almost gasping for air as his body melted against the sheets.

Quivering, Harry all-but collapsed onto the man below him. He panted against his neck, face buried in the curve. It was like his body had shattered, leaving him empty and lethargic. He couldn't even drum up the energy to pull out or cuddle or even speak. He could only breathe and wonder if he'd ever be able to move again.

Draco gave a small groan, pushing Harry off of him before curling up against his side. He hissed softly, the sound between a whimper and a moan as Harry's limp shaft slid out of him as the two rolled over. He gave a small, weak sigh, eyes slipping closed as his head fell against the brunette's shoulder, his mouth not allowing him to speak.

With not a little bit of effort, Harry tilted his head down and pressed his nose into Draco's hair. "Mmf," was the best he could manage.

He gave a small chuckle, an exhausted expression pushing at his lips as he slung an arm around the Quidditch-toned waist pressed against him. "Sleep," he whispered almost inaudibly. "Talk 'n 'he morning..." His eyes drifted closed slowly, his breathing beginning to even out as sleep began to creep in to the edges of the blonde's boggled brain.

"Mmhm," Harry sleepily agreed, pleased that they were on the same wavelength. He turning his body slightly to better press against the lithe one at his side and murmured something suspiciously close to "Love you" before he was fast asleep.

The blonde followed a few moments later, not even bothering to disconcert reality from fantasy, comforted by the befuddled words as he drifted off to dreams.


	7. Red Delicious

Chapter 7

_Red Delicious_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry woke the same way he always did... except the part where an obviously demonic cat was sitting on his chest and giving him a clear, unblinking stare. He jolted and the thing announced its disapproval in the form of claws sinking into his skin. "Fuck," Harry hissed, reaching for his glasses. "No wonder your damn name's Severus," he muttered and managed to pry the thing off his skin.

There was a tsk from across the room, long, nimble-fingered hands come into Harry's view as Severus was pried off his chest. "Severus," Draco grumbled, dropping the cat outside of his room and shutting the door quietly, aware that Scorpius was still asleep. The blonde was clad in only a white-washed towel that hung lowly around his hips, water dripping against his shoulders as his damp hair drifted into his eyes. Sun shone from the white beach-style windows across the room, gently shading everything, as it was still early.

Harry smiled slowly, drinking in the sight. "You're way too lovely to be wearing so many clothes."

The blonde gave a small start, head whipping around to glance back at the bed, a hand coming to rub at a small pinch in his neck. "O-Oh!" He pushed hair back from his forehead, trying to ignore the warmth that spread across his cheeks. "You're up."

"I always wake up early, and your cat didn't exactly help." He pouted slightly, eyes holding a teasing light. "You showered without me?"

Draco chuckled, the sound warm and affectionate as he walked over to Harry's side of the bed. His brain gave a small pause. Harry's side of the bed? He rather liked the sound of that. "I'm sorry, love." He purred, resting a hand against Harry's chest and leaning down, pressing their lips together in a deep kiss.

"You should be sorry," he murmured against Draco's mouth, hands reaching up and arms wrapping around his neck. "'Morning."

He gave a small, pleasured hum, pressing their lips together softly, a hand carting through the mess of tangled locks that was Harry's hair. "Good morning to you too." His heart pounded in his chest. Was that how is was always going to be? Good morning kisses, amazing sex, a pounding heart and a deliciously handsome, and romantic, brunette to wake up to? Damn, he hoped so.

The auror pulled his lover down onto the bed with him, grinning. He felt giddy, memories of the night before flooding him. "I am so bloody glad I was passing the park while you were there."

He chuckled quietly, silver eyes looking like molten silver in the warm August sun. "You and me both." He pressed their lips together again, arms resting on either side of his lover's head. The word stopped Draco's heart for a moment. Dear Merlin. He was lovers with Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. His kiss tasted all the more sweeter.

Harry smiled through the kiss, pleased with the situation. Draco's towel was tugged away so his fingers could stroke his bared hips, trail over the curve of his arse. "You're beautiful, you know."

Draco gave a small, pleased moan. "Mm. I know." He pulled Harry's lower lip between his teeth, dragging his fingers through tangled brown locks. "And you know what else I know?"

"Enlighten me," he teased, letting out a soft laugh.

"You could use a shower." He tugged at a piece of hair before grabbing his towel and jumping off the brunette with a peck of his lips, warm laughter spilling from his lips.

Harry huffed, but couldn't quite defeat the smile. "Cock tease," he accused. "Getting me all hot and bothered in your little towel just to send me away."

Draco chuckled, opening a small door a little ways away and rumbling through it. The closet was barely a tenth of the size he had when growing up in the Manor, but the blonde oddly enough didn't mind after all these years. "You love it. Now go shower; we still need to get Scorpius up." Throwing in the we's, and the us's, and Harry's side of the bed. It all just seemed... perfect. The blonde wanted to smack his head against the door jam. He had a dying child, and he was falling head over heels for a bloody Gryffindor. The Saviour of the Wizarding World no less! What was happening to him?

Harry was having similar thoughts, having caught sight of the distorted Dark Mark as Draco had sauntered away. Draco had a dying child and here was Harry falling, and falling fast for his father. A former Death Eater and a Slytherin, for Godric's sake. It was clearly some sort of brain damage...

Then again, that was rather cowardly thinking. He walked over, pressed a soft kiss to Draco's neck, and slid his fingers over the blonde's arms, purposefully brushing over the Mark. "You're beautiful," he whispered again, letting the tender feeling wash over him.

Draco felt as if his heart ceased beating the moment Harry's fingers brushed the crude, repulsive Dark Mark that lay inked into his arm. "Y-You..." He gave a soft gasp at the feeling of the warm lips on his skin, tilting his head ever-so slightly to the side to reveal more pale, creamy skin. "H-Harry..."

Harry turned him easily, hand closing over the Mark because it didn't matter. It wasn't who he was. "Draco," he murmured and captured his lips in a soft, loving kiss.

The blonde melted against the kiss almost instantaneously, arms sliding around the short man's neck as he pressed his lips back almost cautiously. "Harry..." How could he...? If the mark meant nothing - he hoped it meant nothing... Maybe, just maybe... they could make this work. Salazar he hoped they could, because the brunette's touch was like lightning and his kisses were like Fire Whiskey. Addicting. But with Scorpius... He wanted to smack himself upside the head. He had a wonderful, wonderful man in his arms, against his lips, in his bed for Salazar's sakes and for once in his bloody life, the one damned thing he loved in this world had to put a chip in that. A dying child was not a way to start a relationship, he chided himself.

"You're thinking too hard about this," Harry murmured, fingers sliding into Draco's hair. "These aren't the best circumstances, but it's what we have."

Draco swallowed hard, trying to calm his breathing as he leaned into the relaxing touch. Thank Godric the brunette was so relaxed, it helped this frazzled father very much. "How can I not get worked up over this?" he whispered quietly, his breath brushing against Harry's lips. "I have a dying child who's barely even lived, I'm falling head-over-heels for the sodding Gryffindor Golden Boy, and I'm still hated by the world I used to hold so dear. My world is falling to shreds Harry, and I've only just come to realize it." He was proud of himself for not allowing his voice to hitch with his shuddering breaths.

"We're going to cure Scorpius; we're going to. The sodding Gryffindor Golden Boy is falling right with you, which I don't consider to be a particularly bad thing. And shreds can be mended, Draco. I'll be here with you to help patch everything back together." He lowered a hand to the Dark Mark, eyes not leaving the blonde's. "This doesn't matter. This isn't who you are and it never was. I saw some of the things he made you do. Made you do," he repeated. "You're a good man, Draco Malfoy, no matter what's in your past."

"I..." Draco was speechless, the touch on his arm warming and reassuring. He leaned down, tearing his eyes away from the gruesome Mark on his arm and rested his forehead against Harry's shoulder, heart wrenching and twisting inside his chest as it skipped a beat. "Y-You really are the Gryffindor Golden Boy, aren't you?" he chided quietly, his breath brushing against the warm skin of Harry's neck that still smelled of sex and Draco's own scent thrown in.

"I'm just smarter than people think. I've met quite a few former Slytherins, too, who've done nothing wrong but be born to the parents they were born to, but they're persecuted and victimized for it." His eyes shadowed momentarily and he sighed. "For some, it gives them no other choice - in their minds - than to become what people say they are. Others like you...? They're stronger."

The blonde gave a small sigh, pulling away and glancing into Harry's gentle, emerald gaze. "You know... any more Gryffindor-ness in my home and I might just have to change my name to Potter and wear obscene amounts of the colour red." He chuckled quietly, arms looping around Harry's neck as he stepped forward to rest their foreheads together. "I understand your view on this Harry, but for me... it's harder. Why am I the only one with the Mark? Why was it barely destroyed? What more do I have to do to clear the Malfoy name?" He pressed a small kiss to Harry's nose. "But for now, I have to agree." A meager smirk pulled at his lips. "I would have to be strong to handle all this, and all I can do is hold my head high and walk with what little dignity I have left."

"The Malfoy name isn't as bad as the Parkinson one. Pansy's still the 'girl who wanted to give Harry over.' Besides, Draco, it's not like you have to walk alone." His arms twined around Draco's waist, pressing him just that much closer.

He pressed their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss, fingers curling against Harry's neck. "I don't plan on it. You see, the thing about Slytherins is that we are very possessive." He pressed himself flush against the shorter male, pressing their lips together and murmuring lowly. "And once we have something we want, we never let it go. And it seems," Draco nipped Harry's lips lightly, "that my son might just not be as Slytherin as I once thought. Instead he might be a little lion and he is very attached to a certain Gryffindor Golden Boy."

"Could be that I'm just attached to that little lion," Harry revealed, nudging Draco towards the wall. "And his delectable father is allowed to be as possessive as he wants, just so long as he expects it right back."

With a slight lean against the wall at his back, Draco dragged Harry forward into a fervent kiss, lips melding together seamlessly as he arms locked around the Gryffindor's neck. "Shut up." He murmured against their lips.

"Make me," Harry dared, reaching down and curling his fingers into Draco's hips.

"Gladly." Warmth flared everywhere as Draco stretched his limbs along Harry's, pressing their hips together and giving them a small push as his tongue swiped across a succulent lower lip, hands tangling in wavy brown locks.

Harry reversed their positions with a quick move, hands sliding up to grip Draco's shoulders. If they were going to fuck against the wall, and Harry dearly hoped Draco would go for that, than it'd be better leverage-wise for Harry to bottom. "Try harder," he mumbled against Draco's lips, the invitation clear.

Draco gave a small groan as he felt his cock harden against Harry's hip, pressing their bodies flush together as if they were fit as one person. He slipped a hand between their bodies, and leaning down to kiss Harry's neck, Draco slid a hand down Harry's body, taut muscles and smooth skin, his nails dragging lightly. He cupped Harry's crotch in his palm, squeezing lightly. "Gladly." He repeated, pushing his tongue past Harry's lips and kissing him fervently.

Harry eagerly returned the kiss, bucking into Draco's hand. "Want," he mumbled, breaking off as the blonde's tongue swept over his, "you to..." He broke off again on a hum of pleasure, back arching; Draco really was giving it his all. "Fuck me," he finally gasped.

Draco smirked. Their lips were inches apart as he panted, nearly in time with his erratic heartbeat. Draco could feel Harry's hot breath against his lips as he busied himself with trailing his fingers over the crack of Harry's arse and over a prominent hip-bone.

"Yes," Harry moaned, rutting against the blonde.

"Mmm," he pressed their erections together, grinding Harry up against the wall and moaning at the sweet friction that sparked through his body. He slid a hand below Harry's thigh, jerking the other's leg up as he swiped his tongue back against kiss-swollen lips, begging for entrance as he wrapped Harry's leg around his waist, grinding their erections together almost painfully, reveling in the delicious, mind numbing friction it produced.

Harry wrapped his leg tightly around Draco's waist, fingers gripping his shoulders as his lips parted on a moan. His own tongue lapped at Draco's as it stole inside and another moan broke free.

Draco had never been more thrilled to have his magic back, muttering a quick spell against those delicious lips and slicking his fingers up before slipping one against the crack of Harry's arse. He pulled away from the dizzying kiss and nipped his way down the sun-kissed skin, a smirk ever present on his red, swollen lips.

Harry slid his hands into his pale hair, his own lips parted just enough to let his pants escape. His head fell back on a throaty moan as Draco's fingers slid within.

Draco brought his hot tongue up to flick at the brunette's earlobe, his hand splayed firmly against his lower back as he gently coaxed in another finger, moaning at the shear heat the gripped his fingers like a vice. "F-Fuck, Potter."

"Love it if you did," he managed, eyes closing, hips rolling.

The blonde gave a haughty smirk, moaning at the delicious friction of his erection against the other's. "Don't mind if I do," he rasped, slipping in another finger and scissoring, pressing deeper inside as he rocked his hips forward.

Harry made a sound that was perilously close to a whimper, turning his head to lick and nip at Draco's lips. He rutted eagerly against the blonde. "Now, Draco."

Unable to take anymore waiting and achingly hard, Draco slathered his cock with his still slicked hand and jerked Harry's leg up around his waist, using the wall as a support as he pushed past the still tight ring of muscle for the first time. Once fully sheathed, Draco's heart pounded in his chest. Merlin, the outstanding pleasure of being engulfed by this man's hot, tight muscles was almost too much. Using the wall as leverage, Draco gave the brunette a few minutes to adjust, hands roaming everywhere as he tried to control his breathing. This tight heat, the sweat slicked skin pressing against his. He groaned, gently rotating his hips, pressing kisses against the flushed neck before him.

Harry clutched at the other man's shoulders, back braced against the wall and both legs twined tightly around his waist. "D-Draco," he began, "I've..." His eyes closed and his hips rolled. "Never bottomed."

The blonde gave a small groan, gritting his teeth to keep from pounding into the man that not even moments before was tantalizing him with images of Draco pounding him into a shower wall. "M-Merlin, Harry." He gasped, caressing Quidditch-toned sides lightly. Draco couldn't help but lean forward and whisper husky encouragements against the delicious looking earlobe. "You feel so fucking amazing, Harry." His hand washed over taut stomach muscles and drifted over his hips. "Let me show you how amazing it can feel." The blonde pressed a gentle, almost chaste kiss - if he wasn't buried balls deep in this addictive man - against his chin.

"Shite," he muttered, letting out a breathless laugh. "Think I would've let you do this if I didn't think you could make it incredible?" He rolled his hips againto encourage the blonde, capturing his lips for a greedy kiss.

Draco smirked into the kiss, rolling his hips. "See if I try to play nice during sex again, Potter." He gripped the others hips, and he wouldn't be surprised if bruises would appear. Pulling out until only the tip of his cock was sheathed inside the addictive heat radiating from the other, Draco slammed back in, moaning loudly as white sparked behind his vision. Bloody fuck did it feel amazing. Instantly setting a fast past, the blonde pistoned his hips forward, pressing his lips against the brunette's neck.

"F-fuck," Harry gasped, clinging to Draco for all he was worth, short nails digging into the skin of his shoulders. He'd clearly been right in trusting Draco with this and he could be cuddly after. And Harry planned on being very cuddly after. He moved his own hips as well as he could, his length rutting against Draco's abdomen.

"O-Oh fuck Potter - so good." The blonde could barely string two thoughts together, the overwhelming heat from his cock pounding inside the brunette's ass, and the delicious friction of Harry's erection against his stomach had the blonde barrelling towards the edge quicker than he wanted. Resting a hand against the wall beside Harry's hand, Draco pulled out slowly, allowing a moment's pause before slamming back in and continuing at an absolute torturous pace, revelling in the moans and pleas that slipped from Harry's lips.

That pause had been a tease. An absolute, incredible tease. Bloody Slytherin. Harry bit his neck, trying to keep some of the mindless pleas from breaking free but couldn't help himself. He was lost in it, mind centered solely on the man before him, world narrowing entirely to this moment, these sensations. "Draco," he whined, drawing the name out. "Godric... Oh, Draco..."

"Come for me Harry," his whispered, a familiar sensation curling in his stomach as he thanked Salazar that the wards from last night were still up as Draco was pounding into the blonde as if he couldn't survive without the feeling of those muscles clenching almost blindingly around achingly hard length. The heat, the vice like grip - Draco was a jump away from falling over the edge and Merlin be damned if he didn't want Harry to reach it first. He slithered a hand down, fingers sliding around hot and heady length bobbing between their bodies and jerked his hand up and down in time with his maddening thrusts.

It took only a few pumps of his hand to send Harry tumbling over the edge, his release coating Draco's skin, his muscles clenching even tighter around Draco with the force of it.

The feeling of the lithe body pressing against him and tightening around his aching cock was more than enough to send Draco spiraling over the edge, his orgasm tearing through him with a cry echoing from his lips, his stomach tightening almost violently. "O-Oh gods, Harry-"

As he came down from his own orgasm, Harry dropped his brow to Draco's shoulder. He searched his mind for any sort of English and eventually whispered a breathy little "Wow."

"Mm," the blonde moaned, gently setting Harry back on his feet, his flaccid cock slipping free from between the brunette's legs. "You can say that again." His heart was beginning to slow, Draco resting his head in the crook of Harry's neck as he tried to get his brain to catch up with the bloody amazing sex he just had against his bedroom wall.

"Don't know if I can," he mumbled, the only thing holding him up was Draco's body pressing into his still. "Brain's gone."

He gave a small chuckle, caressing Harry's side and moving his head to catch Harry's lips in a soft, almost chaste kiss. "Well how about a shower? I'm all sweaty again thanks to you, Harry." He mumbled against kiss swollen lips.

"When I can feel my legs again, sure." Harry held the blonde close, nestled his head in the crook of Draco's neck, and sighed quietly. He'd fallen, he realized. No more of this "am falling" or "might be." He'd tumbled somewhere between seeing a harried Malfoy at a playground to letting himself get fucked against a wall, and had landed face-first in love.

Draco's thoughts weren't far behind. Somewhere between seeing the warm smile on his terminally ill son's face, one that was hard to bring up no matter the situation, getting his wand back from the same person who took it all those years ago and helped him get it back again, and to see how well Scorpius and Harry bonded, how well they seemed to mesh together as a family... Draco Malfoy didn't know what to think. No. That was a lie. Screw his obsession with the Gryffindor Golden Boy in sixth year, Draco thought he had pushed those thoughts aside after marrying Astoria. But, standing here, caressing the supple golden-kissed skin and pressing small kisses against a stubble-grown chin, if Draco hadn't fallen hard, or even started, his was damn well on his way now. Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin, had fallen head-over-as expensive as you can drag from his closet-loafers - in love with Harry James Potter. Shite.

"Y'know, I have to admit... I liked that. A lot. Never thought I would, really." He nuzzled the blonde, lips curving against his skin.

He let out a quiet laugh, pulling Harry away from the wall and wrapping him in his arms, running a palm over the reddened skin softly. "Too late to be wondering about that, isn't it?" Draco chided teasingly, his eyes a warm molten silver as the day's sun finally peaked in through the windows and basked the room in a warming, golden light.

"I wanted it quick, so I wouldn't have time to wonder about it. I wanted to try it out because I find myself trusting you." He lifted a hand, gently cupping Draco's cheek. "Next time you can be nice and sweet with it."

"Haha," his laughter shook his chest, pulling Harry closer and placing a kiss on top of wavy dark-brown locks. "Whatever you say. Now," he held the wizard at arms length, gazing at him fondly. "I don't know about you, oh Savior, but I need a shower." His thumb rubbed soothing circles over a bicep.

"I needed one anyway, oh git." His lips twitched. "And I'm not going to be rude and forget to invite you."

Draco's laughter was his answer, and it followed him into the bathroom, the unbridled sound filling the room as Draco's naked arse disappeared behind the plain white door.

Grinning, Harry went after him, cupping his arse and giving it a fond squeeze while the blonde turned the water on.

"Haha, you are insatiable!" Steam began to fill the bathroom after Draco turned one of the nozzles, leaving the plain glass door swinging open as he turned towards Harry, holding out a hand. "Join me?"

"I'm plenty satiable; it's your arse that's demanding I squeeze it." Smiling, he took the proffered hand and stepped into the shower with his lover. His lover. Harry's smile widened. The word had never been more accurate, in his opinion.

The door closed behind them as Draco took Harry into his arms, taking the brunt of the hot water hitting his back before gently easing the other wizard under it with a soft, loving kiss placed against his lips, arms securely around his brunette's waist.

Harry slid his fingertips up Draco's back in a gentle stroke, eyes slipping closed as he returned the easy kiss, and linked his fingers behind the blonde's neck. A shiver stole down his spine despite the heated water.

He gave a small, pleased sigh, reveling in the post-coital bliss that ebbed through his body, gently swiping his tongue against Harry's lip, coaxing the other tongue out and tangling them in a passionate kiss, his palms pressing lightly against toned sides.

Harry only broke the kiss when his lungs demanded air, smiling slowly. He grabbed the body wash, immediately amused that Draco used liquid stuff, and squirted some directly onto the blonde's skin before lathering him up with his hands.

Said blonde gave a shudder, bumps slowly prickling up over his water-soaked skin as a small gasp left his lips, masked by the rushing spray of the water. Draco leaned down, pressing their lips together softly without a moments hesitation. Once, twice.

Kissing back, Harry continued cleaning the blonde. His fingers trailed down over his abdomen and around to his hips, caressing gently.

Cupping his hand and scraping some of the rogue foaming bubbles off his stomach, Draco stepped forward, pressing their skin almost flush together and running the suds over Harry's shoulder, and across the arch of his hip, tracing lines of muscles and curves of bones. He knew that if he were to close his eyes, he could imagine - remember - every dimple, curve of a hip, and toned muscle on the absolutely gorgeous brunette who was currently lathering his skin in vanilla scented bodywash.

"Mm..." Harry nibbled lightly on the blonde's neck, his own eyes slipping shut as he slid his hands around. His lips quirked in amusement as he rubbed his fingers over Draco's arse.

Draco tsked softly, spinning Harry around and pulling him flush against his soapy chest. "Ah-ah-ah. I don't think so." He murmured, pressing a small kiss against the soft, sun-kissed skin of Harry's neck.

The brunette laughed. "Did I do something?"

"Yes," his laughter spilled past his lips, his chest rumbling against Harry's back as blonde strands of hair wiped against his face. He spun Harry around, their height difference leading to an advantage as Harry was forced under the warm spray of water, Draco's arms securely around his waist.

Harry ducked his head, using the difference to his own advantage to lick Draco's chest. "Just making sure you're thoroughly clean, love."

A blush warmed across Draco's neck and cheeks, his eyes warming with affection. "Love?" He tried to chuckle at the pet name, his heart giving a lurch inside his chest as he gazed down at the handsome man in his arms, the sound dying on his lips. Love?

Harry searched Draco's eyes and decided that he may as well just admit it. "Yes," he said quietly, lifting fingertips to Draco's cheek.

Draco Malfoy was never one to believe in cliches. But, the moment that word left Harry Potter's lips... Draco's world stopped. Love? Love? Was he ready to... He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat as his eyes met those of shocking emerald green. Was he ready to admit love just yet? "You..." he licked his lips, taking in a small, shuddering breath. "You love me?"

"I told you I was falling for you." He smiled slightly, shrugged. "I just happened to hit the bottom."

Finally! Finally! Something was looking up! The wet, shocked and almost crazily ecstatic (he kept trying to tell himself that Malfoys didn't get crazily ecstatic, almost or not), wanted to jump up and sing to the skies, or grab a broom and fly across the ocean. Finally. "I love you too."

Harry grinned, dragging the blonde down for a heated kiss. "You had me worried there for a second, you git."

He laughed, the sound warm and liberating. Draco seemed to be doing that a lot these days. Picking Harry up, careful of the confines of the shower, he spun them both around, pressing their lips together and laughing. "I'm the git? I think we've seemed to switch places!"

"Godric, Malfoy, I'm not a bloody girl." But he laughed anyway, latching his lips onto Draco's once again. "You're still the git."

"Bloody fine with me, Potter," he drawled, rolling his mercury hued eyes. His lips were pressed thinly, as if trying to contain heated words of an argument, or bubbling laughter of a joke. He broke out in a wide, and Salazar help him - Gryffindor-ish grin as he pressed his lips firmly against the brunette's. "Let me enjoy my moment Potter. I now know that I am not going insane." Even though I think I might be insane for falling in stupid, requited, never-would-of-imagined-this-happening, love... with a bloody Gryffindor.

With an amused sound, Harry nipped at the blonde's bottom lip. "You're clearly already insane," he teased. "But I really don't mind."

Draco rolled his eyes, dragging him and Harry back under the cooling spray of the water. "Can I blame the five year old? Because, I fully blame my five year old son."

"Of course you can blame the five year old." Harry smirked. "Anyone with half a Slytherin mind would know to do that."

"And weren't you supposed to be in Slytherin as well, love?" Draco purred against kiss swollen lips, arms tugging a fit waist against his own, his lips curving in an answering smile.

"How do you think I always knew you were up to something?" Harry teased, stroking Draco's back.

"I always thought it was your wit," a kiss pressed to the corner of his mouth punctuated the thought. "Your charm," another kiss to his nose. "Your gaudy Gryffindor lure, of sorts." A kissed pressed to every eyelid. "Or that you were just as cunning as one of us." He pressed their lips together mutely, his thoughts narrowing down to the slight press of lips and the warm rush of water against his back.

"I was too smart to get sorted into Slytherin, is all. No need to advertise my cunning," he explained, smiling against Draco's lips and sinking back into the kiss. He nipped his bottom lip to discourage conversation and let the kiss spin out for a breathless moment.

"Mm," Draco tilted his head, kissing back for a few moments before pulling away. "I'll pretend like you didn't just insult my intelligence," his arms tightened around Harry's waist. "And let us just relax for a few moments before I need to go wake Scorpius."

"Both excellent ideas," Harry mused, holding onto his blonde. His lips curved against Draco's neck when he pressed a kiss there. "Mine."

A blush bloomed across high, pale cheeks. "Yours, Potter?"

"Very much so, Malfoy." He kissed his neck again. "All mine."

He gave a small hum of contentment, leaning down and capturing Harry's lips in a gentle kiss. "I think I can live with that. You know..." Draco laughed lightly. "For you being a Gryffindor and all."

"Hufflepuff," Harry teased, smile soft, gaze loving.

Draco pressed their lips together quickly before turning his body around and shutting off the water. "And this Hufflepuff lets you sleep in his bed, so don't go calling me something related to a badger." There was laughter in his tone as he turned back around and gave the brunette a small shove towards the shower door. "Out, go."

"I'm honored. Truly." Harry cast a wandless drying charm over himself and sauntered to the door before glancing back. He smiled. "I love you, Draco."

The blonde paused in reaching for his toothbrush, his warmed cheeks reflecting garishly in the mirror. "I-I love you too, Harry." He shoved the toothbrush in his mouth before he shoved his foot in it. Hufflepuff.

Grinning widely, Harry made his way to the bedroom to throw clothes on. He ended up borrowing one of Draco's, realizing that he hadn't gone home the night before for any extra clothes. He pawed though drawers, too, until he found a pair of jeans that may actually fit. They were a little tight at the waist and long at the leg, but Harry didn't mind. The tight over the shoulder shirt didn't bother him either. They smelled like Draco.

And then, tired of having to squint and get as close to everything as possible to see, he started padding the bed for his glasses. "Draco!" he called. "Do you have any idea where my glasses have gone?"

The blonde leaned a head out of the door, a towel in hand, his wand sticking out of his grip. "Um," he sucked in his bottom lip, gnawing on it lightly as his silver eyes drifted around the room. "Aha! They're under the bed, love." He disappeared behind the door again. "My side!"

His side. That was a pleasant thought. "Good." Harry shimmied beneath, hands patting blindly, arse lifted and wiggling in the too-tight jeans.

Draco groaned, shuffling out of the bathroom and up behind Harry, running his hands over that deliciously curved backside. "You are the devil."

Harry laughed, pushing back into Draco's hands. "There's a distinct possibility of that."

He leaned down, pressing warm, open-mouthed kisses against Harry's shoulders, enjoying the heat that burned against his lips.

"Save it for when we have time," Harry suggested, finally locating his glasses and slipping them on.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "What? I'm not allowed to kiss you anymore?" He turned away with a flippant hand gesture. "I'm wounded."

Harry chuckled, sitting up and nuzzling into Draco's neck. "Like kissing on me that much, do you?"

Draco leaned back into the touch, tilting his head to the side and drifting his lips over Harry's. "I think I have a few years to make up for."

"I'd say we both do." Harry slid his fingers through Draco's hair, smile soft. "Does this mean I can bite you if you start talking too much?"

The blonde let out a bark of laughter. "Didn't know you had a kink, Potter!"

"A kink? Oh, Draco. You're so cute in your ignorance."

Draco raised a finely arched eyebrow, questions swimming in his ever-curious eyes.

Harry grinned wickedly, tracing little patterns in the blonde's chest. "How do you feel about handcuffs?" he purred.

The blonde let out a tortured moan, hands sliding around Harry's back and tugging him flush against his still-naked skin. "You," he pressed their lips together, "are absolute murder." Lightly scraping his nails along sun-kissed skin, he pressed kisses down Harry's jaw and across his deliciously addictive collarbone. "You might have a death on your hands, Auror Potter."

"I'm guessing you think highly of them." Harry's voice was low and husky. "And if you don't cut that out, we're pushing back waking Scorpius."

Draco stepped forward, pulling Harry flush against him, moaning softly at the heat that radiated from below the clothes tugged against the Auror's taut muscles. He pressed his growing erection against Harry's hip and rolled his hips. "I think highly of a few things." His whisper was raspy as he pulled on Harry's ear lightly with his teeth.

Oh, Godric, yes. Harry reached down, cupping his shaft. "Let's try some of those things."

He let out a tempting moan, rolling his hips once more and letting his hands drift their way up Harry's shirt and pinch at a pert nipple, rolling it under his thumb. "I think I just might." Draco pulled away completely with a quick jerk, ending a few feet away with a wide smirk set against his rosy lips. "One of them is waking up Scorpius. Go on." He made a 'shoo-ing' hand motion, waving his hands in front of him as if trying to get rid of a petulant child. "Go wake him up."

Harry stared at him, his own erection straining against the tight jeans. "You bloody tease."

Draco licked his lips, his tongue coming out to lick at the kiss-swollen lips as his fingers dipped down to hook on the edge of his towel, pulling down on one edge to reveal a sharp, tempting hip bone. His own erection was straining against the stark white towel, his eyes never leaving the dastardly handsome brunette across the room. "Sorry Auror Potter," he turned on heel, stepping into the bathroom. With a quick glance over his shoulder, his eyes full of lust and something close to fire burning in his veins, he shut with door with a muttered sentence."You'll just have to punish me later." Draco leaned against the door, heart thundering wildly.

Harry ran his tongue over his teeth, getting to his feet and blasting himself with a cooling charm to relax. "You're going to get the best punishment of your life tonight," he promised.

Harry couldn't see it, but behind the white-washed door, Draco gave a shudder, the vibration shooting straight to his throbbing erection as Draco leaned his head back and knocked it against the door, blowing blonde strands of hair out of his face with a petulant huff. "Can't wait."


	8. Jester, Jubilee & Junami

Chapter 8

_ Jester, Jubilee & Junami _

[ Original Work ](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry paused just inside Scorpius's bedroom, smiling slowly. Miniature Draco was sprawled over his bed, the covers partially covering one leg and nothing else. Perry was half off the bed, held up by Scorpius's fingertips. He watched the little light-up snitch floating around the room and reached out, catching it easily. His weekly games with the Weasleys weren't going to waste.

Smiling, he cut off the little night light and made his way to the bed to poke at the little sleeping child. "Scorpius?"

The little child grumbled unintelligibly, rolling over away from Harry and dragged Perry over the side of the bed, clutching him to his chest. His hair was mused, his cheeks slightly red with sleep as his head sunk back against the pillows, his little lips parted as he breathed in.

Harry chuckled, poked at Scorpius's ribs. "Scorpius, time to wake up."

Scorpius groaned, eyes cracking open for the first time in hours as he curled up tighter around the bright white unicorn. "No." His eyes fluttered shut again, a small pout forming on his baby small lips.

"Aww. How come?" He stroked his fingers through the boy's hair, smiling. "There's so much stuff to do."

The little boy gave a small whimper, rolling over and tugging the Ballycastle Bats Quidditch team quilt up over his little blonde head.

Harry laughed, gathering the child up and lifting him into his lap. "If you don't wake up, your daddy'll be cross with me. You don't want to get me in trouble, do you?"

"Meanie." Scorpius grumbled from under the blankets, his tired silver eyes peaking out from the dark black quilt. His small hands grabbed onto Harry's that was warm around his waist, curling up tightly around the appendage. Draco smiled from the doorway, happy to be ignored for the next few moments, content to just watch his two favorite people.

Harry lowered his head, pressed a light kiss to the top of his head. "You don't want breakfast then? I'll bet it's apple-related. And you can't sleep all day."

Perry appeared from beneath the blankets, resting atop Scorpius's head. "Scorpius doesn't want to wake up. Scorpius thinks Scorpius should sleep in all day." The little unicorns head bobbed up and down as Scorpius's voice traveled from under the blankets.

"But Harry and Draco think Scorpius should wake up. We'll be so bored and lonely without him."

"And I think I'd like to bring my son to a picnic in the park with Harry and his godson." Draco spoke quietly from the doorway, pushing his shoulder off the doorjamb and walking into the room, dressed in a simple white button-down and a pair of dark-washed denim jeans, his feet bare.

Harry gave him an appreciative smile. "You hear that? You can't sleep the whole day. You'll miss the picnic."

His eyes appeared again from beneath Perry's leg. "Picnic?"

Draco smiled warmly, sitting down next to Harry, an arm going around the brunette's waist as he rubbed a hand slowly against Scorpius's back. "Yes, Scorp. Remember, Harry suggested it?" Draco felt a small nod against his hand.

The brunette leaned against Draco, smiling. "I've got to go and get Teddy pretty soon, actually. Maybe the pair of you can come with me."

Scorpius giggled, tugging the blanket down from around his head, his cheeks red with the heat that accumulated below the quilt. "Teddy! That's a funny name."

Draco raised an eyebrow, questioning eyes gazing at his child. Scorpius pouted in return, a small "What?" on his lips. "I think we'd both love to go," Draco smiled down at the other wizard, leaning down to press a kiss against his lips, laughing softly at the small 'eww' that escaped his child's lips.

Harry smiled against Draco's lips. "Stop at my flat first? I'd like to pack a few things, assuming Teddy and I are welcome to stay over for a few days."

Draco rolled his eyes, glancing down at Scorpius with a fond expression set against his aristocratic face. "Just inviting yourself over to my home now, Potter?" Scorpius clapped his hands, a babyish giggle flying past his lips.

The brunette brushed his lips over Draco's ear, ruffling Scorpius's hair. "Yes. Do you mind?"

The elder Malfoy hummed thoughtfully as he pulled Scorpius from Harry's lap and leaned the little boy against his chest, rubbing his lion covered back as Scorpius nuzzled against his father's shoulder, eyes drifting closed again. "I don't see why not. I think Scorpius might enjoy the company." The little answering nod against his shoulder had Draco's smile softening, placing a kiss against Scorpius's temple.

"Good. I think Teddy'll like it too." Harry buried his face in Scorpius's hair, breathing in the scent of child and smiling. "I'm going to let Andromeda know that you're coming with me. And then breakfast?"

Draco nodded, giving a small sigh as Scorpius reached out a little, Perry clutched hand towards Harry, asking to be carried by the shorter wizard. Draco smiled and pressing a kiss to Scorpius forehead, mind once again checking his temperature.

Grinning, Harry took the boy and stood. "What do you want for breakfast, Scorp?"

The little boy grumbled something involving apples and muffins as Harry walked him out of the room, Draco smiling warmly at the two from the bed before standing and fixing Scorpius's bed, smoothing the sheets back and going to grab his child some clothes, a small, sad smile on his face.

"I think we can handle that," Harry was saying, balancing the boy on his hip. He squatted down before the floo after grabbing a pinch of powder and chucking it in. "Tonks' Residence, front floo," he called and waited until a woman stuck her head out.

"Harry?" She studied him curiously, lifted a brow. "Where on earth are you calling from?"

"Ah... Your nephew's house." He could see her starting to draw away, so spoke quickly. "Andromeda, I've got his son with me now. His name's Scorpius and he'd really like to meet Teddy. So would Draco," he added quietly.

"I see," she murmured.

Harry shuffled Scorpius in front of him. "Say hi."

Scorpius peeked out from pressing his face against Harry's neck, his slate grey eyes glancing at the feminine face in the fire. "H-Hello." His tongue poked out from the gap in his teeth as he grinned, giving a small wave, Perry clutched tightly in his other hand.

She gazed at him, sighed after a moment. "Alright. I'll have Teddy ready to go by twelve. You can bring them." She gave a nod to the boy. "Hello, Scorpius."

"H-Hi Aunty 'dromeda." Scorpius smiled, his expression slightly wary at the person poking out of the fire. All the little blonde knew was that she knew that weirdly named boy they were meeting today and that daddy called her Aunty a lot.

A brow arched. "Smart lad. I'll see you later, then. And you, Harry."

"And Draco," he reminded her and there was a moment of silence.

"Yes," she finally said and disappeared.

"I don' like her." Scorpius pouted, huffing against Harry's as he wrapped his arms back tightly around Harry's neck.

"Aw, don't say that." Harry picked him up as he stood, rubbing his back gently. "She's actually really nice."

"Who doesn't my son like? And why?" Draco walked in to the room, clothes slung over his arm as he walked up towards the two who stood near the couch that Harry had slept on his first night with the Malfoy's.

"Andromeda. She was a little... unsure about later, but she agreed."

Draco nodded, combing his fingers through Scorpius's hair and pulling him from Harry's arms. "Don't worry Scorpius, Andromeda is just..." He paused, gazing at Harry as he tried to pull a word that would describe his... precarious situation with his Aunt. "Cautious," he supplied, adjusting Scorpius against his hip. "Now lets get you dressed as Harry tries to make you breakfast, yeah? Without burning down the kitchen, of course." He smirked at the other as he walked back towards Scorpius's bedroom with a slight saunter in his step.

"I know how to make breakfast!" Harry called, making his way to the kitchen with a smile.

Scorpius and Draco appeared a few minutes later, the little boy rushing in to the kitchen with bare feet padding against the floor, dressed in a plain blue shirt and a small pair of jeans, Perry's hoof grasped in his hand as he barrelled into Harry's leg, arms wrapping tightly around it as he fell to his bum with his stop. "'Arry!"

Harry looked down, laughing. "Scorpius," he greeted, plating muffins.

The little child jumped up and down, chanting quietly "muffin! muffin!" as Draco walked in and scooped him up, spinning him around with warm laughter before setting him on the counter. Grabbing a muffin he held it out to the little enthusiastic blonde who clapped his hands, making grabbing motions towards the pastry.

"Ah-ah. Not until you have your vitamins."

Harry laughed. "I already poured him a little cup of milk for them."

Draco glanced down at Harry, a small expression, a small emotion, flitting at the edge of his slate grey eyes. "Thanks... Harry." He leaned forward, pressing their lips together in a small kiss before pulling away and carrying Scorpius to his chair, where a little red cup sat in front of him.

Watching them, Harry grinned. They were a beautiful pair, really. And they were his now. Harry rubbed a fist loosely over his chest, feeling his heart swell.

Scorpius gave a small coughing fit a few moments later, shocking Draco who was just about to sit down in one of the dark oak chairs that surrounded the table. He shot from the chair, kneeling next to Scorpius's seat and rubbing his back soothingly, moving the glass of milk closer. "Breathe Scorpius," he voice was calm as he patted the little child's back carefully, his coughing coming out in harsh gasps from his chest, his little hand clutched over his mouth as his eyes began to water with the harsh pulls of air from his lungs. A slightly harsher pat to his back had Scorpius's chest racked with one last violent cough before he took in a large gulp of air, the bright red color to his cheeks slowly draining away. "Shhh, Scorpius."

Draco grabbed from the small glass of milk, bringing it to the child's lips as allowing him to take a small few sips, pulled it away.

Harry had rushed over immediately and was beside them both, gently rubbing the boy's back. He turned wide eyes on Draco, his own heart thundering.

Draco pulled Scorpius from the chair, sitting down and placing the child in his lap, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Take it easy, Scorpius," he rubbed fingers gently against the little boy's chest, sending a reassuring glance at the brunette.

Harry blew out a slow breath, lowering his brow to Draco's and carefully running his fingers through Scorpius's hair. "Vitamin go down the wrong pipe, Scorp?"

The little boy nodded, exhaling through his nose with a small pout. "Sorry daddy."

"Oh Scorp, Scorp." He pressed a kiss to his head, poking his little button nose. "It's okay, Scorpius."

"Happens to everyone," Harry assured him.

Scorpius blushed, ducking his head. "S-Sorry, pa-" he paused again, biting his lips. "'arry."

Draco smiled warmly, ignoring the fluttering in his chest at the slip of the tongue, patting Scorpius's stomach and grabbing the now-cool muffin that sat on the table, pulling away the wrapping and pulling a small piece, holding it up for the five-year old to munch on.

Harry brushed a fond kiss to Scorpius's temple, smiling. "Scorpius, you can call me anything you want. Okay?"

The little child blinked his wide, slate grey eyes, a wide smile practically bursting like the sun against his lips. "Really?" He was so excited, he seemed to have ignored the piece of apple muffin held in front of him, his eyes trained directly on the brunette.

Harry flitted an amused look Draco's way before turning his attention back to Scorpius. "Really."

The little boy jumped from Draco's lap and straight against Harry, clinging to his neck. "Yay! I can call you papa!" His laughter was a sound of complete thrill, his smile one of 1000 watts.

Laughing, Harry wrapped his arms around the child and gave him a squeeze. "Yes, you can."

Draco gave a small smile, popping the piece of muffin into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "And what? I don't get any consolation on this?" He patted Scorpius's hair with a chuckle. "You've only known him a week you little snake."

Less, Harry thought, and smiled. "So?"

Draco rolled his eyes, smirking down at the two sprawled out on his kitchen floor. "And what if I said no to this little "Papa & Daddy" charade?~"

"I'd call your bluff because I know you love me." Harry smiled down at Scorpius. "And I love both of you."

Scorpius and Draco both blushed, the colour blooming across their pale skinned cheeks. "We love you too, papa." Scorpius giggled, nuzzling against Harry's chest. Draco shook his head, chucking a small piece of the apple muffin at his son, heart warming at the fluttering laughter that boiled from between his son's lips.

Harry's smile softened, an almost overwhelming rush of warmth filling him at being called papa by the sweet child. He held Scorpius a little tighter, resting his cheek on the soft hair.

Draco leaned down, pressing a kiss to the soft blonde hair peeking from between Harry's arms before leaning up and meeting Harry's lips in a warm, reassuring kiss.

Harry lifted a hand to the back of Draco's neck, kneading it gently while he returned the kiss.

Draco moved their lips together slowly, pulling away a few moments later and smiling down at the two. "I think we have a picnic to get ready for, don't you?" Scorpius's cheers only affirmed his thoughts that maybe, for once, he was making the right choice.

"We have until noon." Harry got to his feet, depositing the boy into his chair. "I'm ready for a muffin. How about you, kiddo?"

Scorpius's cheers echoed through the kitchen, Draco chuckling as he stood, placing a kiss against Harry's temple. "Then I have time, I need to go and do some laundry for this messy little five-year old here."

"If you need any help, let me know." He nuzzled into Draco's neck, kissing it softly. "Otherwise, I'll just get him fed and keep him entertained for a little while."

Draco smirked, tilting his head to the side as Scorpius happily picked apart a muffin. "I have magic now, Potter. I don't think I'll need the help."

"Draco, love, I meant help." His eyes danced wickedly. "Chores are the ultimate anti-child ward."

He gave a small hum of pleasure. "No, I'm good." He turned on his heel, sauntering out of the room with a small smirk thrown over his shoulder and a little wink.

Ruddy tease. Harry's lips twitched with amusement as he went back to Scorpius, grabbing a muffin for himself.

Hours passed, twelve o'clock soon approaching. Ten thirty found Harry, Draco and Scorpius in the kitchen, making a small picnic basket, Scorpius's face had a small smudge against his cheek, his laughter bubbling over his lips as he gazed at Harry and Draco fondly.

Harry licked his thumb, rubbed it against the smudge of nutella. "You're eating more than helping," he teased.

Draco chuckled, flinging some flour from his fingers at Harry who answered with a reassuring laugh as Draco was in the process of making a few more apple muffins for his son. "Make sure he doesn't eat too much."

Scorpius giggled, a nutella covered finger popped in his mouth. "'Orry Papa, sorry Daddy." His smile gave away that he wasn't really sorry.

"Mini-git." Harry laughed, hiking him onto his hip. "After we get this done, we can head to my place. Alright?"

Scorpius pouted, poking Harry's cheek. "Meanie."

Draco laughed warmly, sliding his hands around Scorpius's stomach and dragging him away from Harry and spinning him around. "Both of you are cruel."

Chuckling, Harry packed up the sandwiches and a few more apples into the basket. He found it absolutely adorable that Draco owned an actual picnic basket.

Draco's reply was a raised eyebrow and a muttered "No commenting, you." Draco smiled down at Scorpius who was chatting animatedly in his arms.

Harry leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankle, watching them with a fond smile. "You're both adorable."

Draco blinked up from whispering soft words to Scorpius, a smile fleeting smile on his lips. "Can say the same for you, Golden Boy."

"Silly papa," Scorpius giggled.

Harry grinned. "Nice to know I fit right in."

"You've always fit in, in a pit of snakes." Draco laughed warmly, getting a smudge of flour of Scorpius's nose with a smell peck of his lips.

Amused, Harry walked over and tapped his wand Scorpius lightly on the nose, cleaning his face. "You're both messy too."

Scorpius giggled, holding his arms out to Harry with a toothy grin. "Papa! Up!"

Draco let his ever-present smile push at his lips. His little guy was just adorable. Him and Harry really did make a cute pair, Draco thought absentmindedly as he turned back to the picnic basket to cast a few lasting charms on it.

Harry nuzzled the boy, smiling. "Love you, Scorp."

The boy answered with the same reply, eyes lighting up as he heard the hoot of an owl pecking at their living room window! "Owl! Owl! Daddy!"

Draco laughed warmly, shaking his head and patting Scorpius's hair as he walked past the two. "Yes, alright, alright, calm down Scorpius."

"Do you get owls pretty often?" Harry wondered, bouncing Scorpius gently.

Draco nodded, a small, grim expression flitting over his face. "Yes. I'll get it." He walked out of the kitchen, hands unknowingly wringing in his pockets. "You just... Make sure Scorpius is all fed..." Draco disappeared behind the bend of the kitchen archway, his thoughts swimming since he didn't seem to realize that he did not want Scorpius to be full. Who would be sending him an owl? Scorpius had no doctors appointments set up, and Hermione was more than welcome to Fire Call, and she knew it too. Perched on the window sill of the beach-style window to the left of the fireplace sat a tawny colored owl, a standard red strip of fabric wrapped securely around his neck to be recognized as a Wizarding Post owl. Draco nodded to reassure himself that everything was fine. Maybe he had a box at the Owl Post that he forgot to grab. He opened the window with a flick of a small latch, allowing the owl to hop over with a hoot and holding its leg out, he untied the small roll of parchment. The owl flew away without waiting for a response.

Harry settled Scorpius down. "Why don't you go play in your room? Pick out some things that you'll want to show Teddy when he gets here?" he suggested.

Scorpius nodded with a giggle, rushing off to go grab Perry who was placed back in his room when they had started baking muffins.

In the living room, Draco's heart fell to the pit of his stomach.

"I heard about your son."

The scrawl on the simple piece of yellowing parchment was nondescript, and the blonde couldn't place it to anyone he knew, or whom he had worked with in the past.

"I'm glad he's dying. It's Death Eater scum like you that ruined this life for us. You should of rotted away in Azkaban for your crimes against us and the Muggle families you harassed and killed. I was disgusted the day the papers printed that you- went- free. No one as vile and pathetic as you deserves to live."

Draco's fists clenched, the parchment crinkling in his hands.

"I hope he dies, and I hope you follow him. No one like you deserves the right to call yourself a wizard, and your son will get everything that was meant for you, just you wait. Neither of you deserve to live. Be glad that your wife dumped you flat on your face, I know we were. You never deserved all that money and the Manor. It should of be burned down immediately for having something so vile and TRAITOROUS living under it's roof."

The word was underlined violently, the ink on the paper still slightly wet. A few of the words smudged beneath it.

"The world will be a better place once your stupid, pathetic, vile little spawn dies and all of us are waiting with baited breath for when you follow him."

The elder Malfoy's breath hitched harshly in his throat.

"I hope you rot in hell with your vile, pathetic family. Everyone knows you deserve each other, all of you are just-"

The letter ended with a vicious scrawl, and something that looked like the tip of a quill having violently puncture the edge of the parchment, having been torn from a rather large roll. Draco's heart clenched violently, his knees shaking.

Harry walked over, tugged the parchment away and gathered Draco in a tight hug. "Draco?"

Draco grabbed the letter back from Harry's hand, clenching it in his fists as he tried, in vain, to wrangle some form of the old Malfoy mask back against his face. "I-It was nothing." He swallowed, trying to moisten his impossibly dry throat. "J-Just some n-news that some old Malfoy artifacts had been..." He rested back against Harry, only marginally, but it was enough to let the brunette know something wasn't right. "Destroyed..."

"Don't lie," Harry whispered. "I'm here for you, Draco. I love you."

Draco's head ducked down to meet his palm, his hand rubbing across his face almost viciously in an attempt to secure some form of composure over his emotions. "I-I love you too, Harry. But this is just..." he gave a muted sigh, anger, exhaustion, depression all leaking into the simple exhale of air. "This is just something that I need to... take care of..." Ignore. "By myself. You understand, don't you?" His eyes refused to meet those of questioning emerald.

"No," he said after a moment, cupping Draco's chin and tilting his head back. "If it's a threat or harassment, I can take care of it. I'm an auror, don't forget."

Draco paused for a moment, eyes clenching closed as the annoying stinging behind his eyes made itself known. "It's just..." he swallowed audibly, heart clenching and twisting like a bewitched broom in his chest. "It's just the u-usual threats... a-about being Death Eater s-scum..." he swallowed again, forcing himself to talk past the violent twist in his throat. "That's all."

Harry took the note from him again and performed a charm on it that would preserve prints and anything else that was on the page before folding it into careful pieces and managing to tuck it into his snug back pocket. "I'll take care of it," he promised. "Don't worry about it. Don't let those idiots ruin your day." He framed Draco's face carefully in his hands, gazing into his eyes. "I know you better than they do. And I love you, Draco Malfoy."

"You didn't even read it." His voice was a mere whisper, his eyes gazing out the windows at the vast, clear sky, his expression slipping into a haunted mask. "You don't even know the things they said."

"Why should what they say matter?" Harry hugged Draco close. "It doesn't matter what they think. You know you aren't Death Eater scum."

"They threatened Scorpius..." his voiced had not raised above a mere whisper. "They threatened Scorpius with death... and said that I deserved the same." A long moments pause hung in the air, tangible enough to be cut with a knife. "They said that we should both rot in hell." Draco wrung his hands together violently. "A-And that my parents would be waiting there for us."

"Neither of you deserve that," Harry murmured. "At all. And I very highly doubt that your parents do either. I kept them out of Azkaban for a reason." He fell silent, tried not to wince. He'd done that in secret, hadn't meant to let Draco know of it. "Anyway..." He shook his head. "You shouldn't pay any mind to things like that. It's wrong," he insisted, tangling his fingers in Draco's hair. "It's so wrong, love."

"How can you not be angry at this?" He pushed away from Harry's arm, turning, his fists clenched violently at his sides, his eyes burning with a withheld fire. "How can you not be infuriated? They threatened us with death! They threatened us! They wanted my son dead, Harry! Dead!" He flung a finger at the window, as if pointing to the person who had sent the letter, as if they were in the very same room. His voice was violent, like a lion's roar or a snake's predatory hiss. "Isn't this what we fought in that stupid war for? To end all this?"

He flung a hand at the letter that lie in Harry's back pocket. "Then why do I keep receiving death threats? Why doesn't the Ministry put an end to this?" He left out the fact, however begrudgingly, that they both, he and Scorpius, had received worse than death threats. Poisoned Howlers, enchanted items that were charmed to kill either he or his child, whoever opened the package first, poisoned letters that released toxic gas, or spray some form of acid when you opened them. It's why Draco refused to let Scorpius anywhere near an owl when one arrived hooting at their window. The blonde had already been privy to many nasty curses and hexes, and one nasty acid bath to the face. The healers didn't even treat them then, not even when a five year old boy, screaming and crying, had dragged Draco's deadened weight through the Floo (dear Merlin knows how the boy managed to reach the Floo powder atop the fireplace mantle) and into the St. Mungo's lobby. Draco had never been more grateful in that moment to have been an accomplished Potions expert when the Healers took one look at his revealed arm and shooed him away.

Harry grabbed his arm, spun him around and crushed him close. And let the fury he'd been tamping down finally show, boiling viciously in dark, hard eyes. "You think I'm not angry?" His voice was deliberately quiet, but didn't disguise the venom. "You don't think I want to find whoever wrote this fucking thing and tear him into the smallest pieces imaginable?"

He advanced a step, trapping Draco between the hard lines of his body and the equally unyielding wall. "I spent a lot of years shouting, Draco, a lot of years raging about things that were unfair. Now I can make differences because I know that shouting and rampaging only gets me so far. I'm going to take this through the right channels and this is going to stop. It's going to stop if you and Scorpius have to go under official auror protection. My auror protection." His eyes glittering dangerously. "Don't tell me I'm not angry about this."

Tears were quickly gathering at the edges of Draco's eyes, his anger waning as his saw the passionate look in Harry's eyes. He was right, of course he was right. Draco took a deep breath, eyes closing slowly as his body sagged against the strong one, the protective one pressed against his. "You're right..." he repeated. "I..." There was a pregnant pause, Draco's head thunking down against Harry's shoulder. "'m sorry." He muttered, "I just... I'm sick of this. I forgot... I should of told you about this..." His arms looped cautiously around the brunette's firm waist, hoping to quell the small amount of anger the brunette let slip through. "I shouldn't of gotten so angry, I normally just let it slide, as shocking as it might sound." His chuckle was muted, dull, his emotions drained as he leaned against the strong fortress that was Harry Potter.

"Draco," Harry whispered, tamping the anger back down. His fingers stroked over the slender man's cheek gently. "You've got every right to be angry. You've got every right to feel victimized. And I know that you're used to dealing with things on your own, but you don't have to anymore. You have me now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Did I ever deserve you?" His head thudded against Harry's shoulder once, "Or did you get hit with some form of a twisted Cruciatus curse?" Twice. "And I don't feel victimized, Potter." His voice was muddled against the fabric pulled against Harry's shoulder. "Malfoy's never feel victimized. We just... sometimes play the wrong cards."

"The only thing you've ever really done to not deserve happiness was..." Harry sighed. "Things were complicated back then. I made bad choices, too. I didn't always trust who I should've trusted. It's not about whether or not you deserve me, you prat." He smiled warmly, nuzzled the blonde gently. "It's about whether or not I love you."

"You're such a prat," Draco spoke calmly, resting against the brunette's arms. "But I've come to realize that I have a thing for prats with devilish emerald eyes," he reached a hand up, head resting against a strong shoulder, to comb through tangled brown strands of hair. "And un-tamable brown locks."

"I think I fall under that category." Smiling, Harry nibbled softly on Draco's lips. "Lucky, lucky me."

"Shut up and kiss me, Potter."

With a rumbling laugh, Harry fitted his lips to the blonde's.

The blonde gave an appreciative moan, arms looping around Harry's waist as he pressed his lips firmly against the brunette's.

Harry's lips parted, his tongue silently requesting entrance, gliding over Draco's lips.

Draco's lips parted immediately, his body fitting perfectly against the shorter male's as his tongue slipped past parted lips, fingers carting through soft, tangled locks.

Harry placed a hand at the small of Draco's back, nudging him that much closer. His other hand lifted to the blonde's cheek, caressing gently as his tongue lapped at his lover's.

Draco gave a throaty moan as the press of hard muscle against his own sent shocks through his nerves, his hand lifting to gave his lover's against his cheeks.

"Papa? Daddy?"

Harry broke the kiss, sighing softly. Right. Right, they had Scorpius. "Just a second, Scorp." His voice lowered. "Better?"

Draco gave a nod, eyes hazy as he glanced at the Auror from under his lashes. "Everything's almost perfect," was his whispered reply as he pressed another light kiss to Harry's kiss-swollen lips and turned back to Scorpius with a small, fatherly smile. "Who's ready for a picnic?" Scorpius's answering cheers at the blonde man laughing and swooping to pick up his son, all problems forgotten for the time being.


	9. Captain Kidd

Chapter 9

_Captain Kidd_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"I'll go first." Harry lifted the picnic basket, smiling. "I've got to loosen the wards and let Kreacher know you're coming. He gets irritable when I bring over strangers. It's Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place." And then, after a quick kiss for Draco, he tossed a pinch of Floo Powder in and repeated the address before stepping in.

A few minutes later, his face appeared in the flames. "Alright, c'mon through." And he was gone again.

Draco kneeled down, adjusting Scorpius's jumper before giving a small kiss to his forehead. "Ok, Scorpius. You're going to go on through first, and I'll be right behind you, ok?" He patiently helped Scorpius to step into the fireplace before grabbing a pinch of Floo Powder, giving a reassuring kiss to the little trembling child's forehead, he tossed it in. "Number Twelve, Grimmuald Place!" And Scorpius disappeared.

Draco followed a few moments later.

The house elf that greeted them seemed older than time, had his lips thinned into a disapproving line, and had white ear hair that stuck out longer than the length of his nose. "Master Harry says to welcome Masters Draco and Scorpius while he answers a letter."

"Hello Kreacher," Draco greeted fondly, kneeling down to eye-level with the ancient house-elf. "My mother spoke fondly of you, it is a pleasure to finally be able to greet you in person." He held out a hand, his animosity towards the creatures having long since disappeared after the... things he had to partake in during the war. A shudder ripped through his body at the gruesome memories of cellar walls and blood-curdling screams.

Kreacher stared at the proffered hand, rather baffled. "Miss Cissy?" he said quietly.

Draco gave a small chuckle, "Yes Kreacher." He motioned Scorpius forward with his other hand. "Scorpius, this is Kreacher. He is a house elf here, where Harry lives." He explained, amused at the child's wide as and baffled expression. Scorpius had never really been privy to house-elves before now. "He was here when Grandma Cissy was young." The little child paused, information being evaluated in his little silver gaze before he gave a squeal of laughter and rushed forward, enveloping the house-elf in a startling hug.

Kreacher went tense, eyes going wide and baffled. This was not how pure-blooded wizards behaved and Master Potter had assured him that these were pure-blooded wizards. "Kreacher insists that Master Scorpius and Master Draco sit down in the parlor."

Scorpius giggled, moving away and tugging at Draco's pant leg as he stood. "Scorpius will follow you, but if you could direct me to where Master Harry is?" Draco bit his lip, thinking that he was never going to let the lion live that title down, no matter how formal and almost normal sounding it did against his ears. It was just too much.

"Master Harry is upstairs in his bedroom. It is the door that says Sirius Black." His lip curled a little at that name; Master Sirius had been most peculiar and not good at all. He bowed low to Scorpius. "Kreacher will take you to the parlor."

Scorpius giggled his little head, nodding and taking the proffered hand, skipping alongside the precarious house-elf as Draco walked slowly through Grimmuald Place. It was much more different than its Order days, he recalled from the descriptions his godfather Severus Snape had given. The walls were much cleaner, the portrait of Mrs. Black long having been destroyed and the home actually smelled clean unlike the musk that Severus had once described. Climbing the stairs quickly, ignoring the lingering eyes of the portraits, Draco quickly found the door marked 'Sirius' and gave it a quick knock. "Harry?"

The door swung open and, sitting at a desk sans shirt, Harry beckoned him in, setting aside his wand. He was sucking on the end of a quill, gazing down at a sheet of parchment with his brows furrowed.

"We've been gone a partial of five minutes and you're already shirtless? Am I just lucky today, Potter?" Draco grumbled, rolling his slate grey eyes and shutting the door with a firm click, sauntering over towards the brunette and sliding his arms around deliciously broad shoulders, he pressed a kiss against Harry's temple. "What's got you so befuddled, love?" He spoke quietly, softly.

Smiling, Harry tilted his head and kissed him. "Shacklebolt wants to cut my mandatory two weeks short. I told him he would, but he never listens. And for the first time since I started the job, I don't want to go back. So I'm trying to figure out how to say that."

He hummed, pleased, into the kiss, carting a few fingers through Harry's disheveled hair. "Well just play the I-Am-The-Golden-Boy-Saviour-Of-Us-All card. That should get you somewhere." He muttered quietly, inwardly pleased that in barely a few days time, he could get Harry to refuse to go back to the job that, before they met, seemed to have been his life. Now his life revolves around a rowdy five-year with a deathly disease. Joyous. "Or just outright say you don't want to go back. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I never play the Golden Boy card with Shacklebolt. He knows it's bollocks." He sighed pleasantly as Draco's shirt fell apart. "I'll just send him a picture of you just like this. He'll let me off, no explanation necessary."

Draco rolled his eyes, turning Harry's chair around with a small squeak against the floor and raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Just going to go hording me off to all your colleagues now are you?"

"I see your point. If anyone else got to see this, I may end up with some competition." He leaned back in the chair, legs hooking around Draco's waist in a quick, smooth motion. "We can't have that."

Draco fell forward, hands grasping onto the chair-back as his face came within a few inches of the brunette's. "Claiming me as your own, are you now Potter?" Draco whispered, the sound deathly quiet in the already quiet household, his heart thundering loudly in his chest.

Harry lifted a brow, smiling slowly. "You are all mine, Draco Malfoy."

Draco licked at his lips, gaze hooded as he tilted his head to the side, exposing a length of pale, creamy skin. "Then mark me as yours, Potter." He purred, the sound rolling off his lips.

Harry smiled and slid a hand into Draco's hair. He licked along the curve of the blonde's neck, tongue moving almost teasingly before his teeth viciously sank in.

The blonde gave a heady moan, lurching forward at the sharp pain against his neck, another long, torturous groan escaping his lips as he felt blood trickle down. "H-Harry..."

Harry lifted his head, panting slightly. He hadn't meant to bite quite so hard, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. He bit again, a little lighter this time, and lapped at the bleeding marks, suckling at the raised skin. He was never going to let this hickey heal.

Draco groaned, knees fitting intimately between Harry's thighs and the sides of the chair as he pressed himself flush against the brunette, head tilted completely to the side, heart pounding and stomach twisting. "Merlin..." he moaned.

"I can't wait for later," he breathed. "Kreacher'll keep Scorpius busy. Just let me have you." He spoke against Draco's throat, lips moving over the bruising mark. His fingers slid down the silken chest and tugged at the button of his jeans.

"Godric, yes Harry." He panted, chest heaving as he rolled his hips fervently against Harry's, moaning his name softly. "B-But..." he took in a few deep breaths, fingers fiddling and tugging at the nape of Harry's neck, at his hair. "We have Teddy," he moaned, head falling against the brunette's shoulder at another vicious bite. "And," he licked his lips, groaning, eyes fluttering shut, as he pressed his erection harsher against Harry's hips. "I don't think Andromeda," another roll of his hips, another tug at Harry's hair, "would be too happy for us to keep them... waiting."

"Then come quickly," Harry suggested, dropping his legs from around Draco's waist and vaulting up, the momentum taking them both to the bed. Teeth latching onto the blonde's shoulder, Harry divested them both of their remaining clothes. A muttered spell slickened his fingers and he slid two in without preamble.

Draco arched violently against the bed, chest heaving, tears coming to his eyes as the heat coursing through his body almost became too much. "O-oh, fuck!" He hands latched into Harry's hair, tugging violently and smashing their lips together as his hips barrelled down against Harry's fingers. "Fuck, Harry- Yes!" He moaned against their lips, head dropping back to reveal creamy white skin plagued by blooming marks of purple and red.

Harry licked at the marks, soon adding a third finger to stretch him wide. "Merlin, Draco. Sweet Merlin." He used the charm on Draco twice to oil him up and lifted his hips before burying himself to the hilt.

Draco arched his back as he was stretched wide, and filled- so beautifully filled as his arms clung around Harry's neck, his hips moving instantly, snapping up against the brunette's. "Godric Harry-" he leaned his head back against the pillows, moaning at the heat, the aching throb of his erection. "Fuck!"

Harry bit into Draco's shoulder, trying to give himself a moment to steady. Merlin, he was still so tight. His hands gripped the blonde's hips. "I love you."

Draco whimpered, chest heaving as his teeth bit down against Harry's shoulder, sweat trickling against his neck as heat bloomed again, racing through his body. His nails dragged down, raising red marks in their wake as his fingers dug into Harry's arse, jerking him deeper inside his own body. "I-I love you too, Harry." He moaned, pulling the others earlobe with his teeth. "Now fuck me."

"Shite," he breathed and reared back, slamming in roughly. He kept the pace up as Draco's body arched beneath his own, using his grip on the blonde's hip to drag him against him with each inward thrust.

Draco felt his orgasm rapidly approaching, his stomach curling as his hands clenched against Harry's round, firm arse as he pounded in against the blonde. "Yes Harry," he groaned. "Salazar yes!" His head fell back against the pillows, his muscles clenching down like a vice around Harry's shaft as Draco took his own erection in hand and gave it a few, jerky pumps with a sweat slicked palm. "Yes Harry- yes!"

Harry bit into the first mark he'd made and groaned as Draco's orgasm dragged out his own, the tight clenching too much for him. He pounded out his release deep into the blonde on a few more hard thrusts.

Draco muffled a scream of his release against Harry's sweat-soaked neck as his orgasm ripped through him, his body shuddering violently as his release splattered against his chest, his stomach clenching as he fell back against the bed, sated with eyes clenched closed. Blood dripped from his neck, his hands falling away from Harry's backside, bright red marks blooming across the sun-kissed skin as Draco panted, trying to catch his breath, fringe falling against his eyes and sticking to his forehead.

Harry dropped his brow to Draco's damp chest and licked a lazy strip through the cum there. "That... Bugger."

Draco's breathing minutely slowed, his hands carting through Harry's hair, his fingers gently massaging the damp scalp, the blonde peppering kisses against flushed cheeks and closed eyelids. "I love you... I love you... Salazar, I love you."

"I love you too," he panted. "Bloody hell, Draco..." Harry sank his full weight atop his lover, lacking the energy to keep himself up. "I love you so damn much... That was..."

He pressed soft, closed mouthed kisses up Harry's shoulder, gently caressing the reddening mark from his teeth there with a simple press of his lips, and up Harry's neck, pressing his lips against the deliciously arched chin and mumbling soft. "Amazing Harry, it was amazing. Breathtaking."

Harry gave a soft laugh, uncurling his fingers from Draco's now-bruised hips and stroking up his sides. "Yeah."

"We really do need to get back downstairs though," Draco mused quietly, his voice sounding as if he wanted to do anything but.

"Shower first? A quick one. Doubt Andromeda would appreciate us arriving looking like we'd just run a mile."

"Harry, I left my child down there with an elf I don't know and I don't think our quick showers count as quick." He leaned up and pressed a kiss to Harry's brow. "Can't we just use a cleaning charm and take one later?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, trying to give himself time to think of a counter-argument. He couldn't. "Okay. He's probably driving Kreacher mad anyway."

Draco chuckled, pressing their lips together and moving them softly. "We'll take one tonight, that's a promise." The last few words slid it as a purr, Draco's hands drifting away from Harry's hair as he gave the other a small shove to move off of him. "Now come on, move ya' stinky Gryffindor."

Harry snorted, leaning down to nip at the original mark one last time before rolling over. "Sweaty Slytherin."

"Mm," he leaned up on an elbow, finally gazing around the room and letting his eyes drift over the dark colours and open-lighting. "You love it."

"Draco, darling, I love everything about you. From your fun new bite-fetish to the way you make a mess with flour when you make muffins."

The blonde blushed, cheeks tinted a rosy pink as he rolled over the bed to retrieve his wand from his pants and spell himself clean. "You're a bloody hufflepuff, I swear."

"You're the one who's blushing." Harry stood, stretching and then went to the desk to get his own wand. He spelled himself clean quickly before going to his dresser to retrieve a pair of jeans.

Draco stood, arching his arms over his head and giving a stretch, sighing blissfully at a few pops of his spine. "I don't blush Potter, it was obviously the sex." His hand reached up to rub at his neck, a hiss leaving his lips as he jerked his hand away, red splatters of blood staining his palm. "Damn Harry, when you bite, you bite hard."

Harry walked over, gently brushing his fingers over the bite. "Yeah... That was a little deeper than I thought it was. Sorry, darling."

Draco rolled his eyes at the pet name and the oblivious Gryffindor traits. "S'fine, love. Now, can you go run down and check if Scorpius hasn't murdered your poor house-elf yet?"

"You underestimate Kreacher. He's a very resilient type." He pressed a kiss to the mark, licked it gently before finding a shirt and pulling it on. He fixed Draco's with a quick spell. "See you down in a minute?"

Draco nodded, reaching down to pull his pants up his impossibly long legs. "See you a minute love," was the mumbled response.

Harry sent a last appreciative look over his shoulder before heading down. He wandered into the parlor, laughing aloud at Kreacher's obvious distress. Scorpius was jumping on a couch cushion, throwing Perry high as he did. Harry caught him on one of his leaps, nuzzling happily into his hair. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Master Harry!" Kreacher cried. "Kreacher tried to tell the young master to stop."

"It's alright, Kreacher. He's just excited."

Scorpius giggled, instantly his mouth was moving in a full barrage of everything he had done while "Daddy and Papa were away!"

Kreacher opened and shut his mouth. It was not his place to question a wizard's usage or title, but Harry saw and smiled. "Kreacher, Draco and I are in a relationship. Which means I'm part of this little guy's life now. Okay?"

Master Harry had always been a little odd. Kreacher, wide eyes somehow bulging even more, nodded. "Yes, Master Harry."

Scorpius giggled, arms wrapping tightly around Harry's neck, "Where's daddy?" he mumbled happily, cheeks a bright red with all the playful exertion a five-year old can harbor.

"Right here," Draco chuckled, stepping off the last stair and sauntering his way into the parlor, pressing a kiss to Harry's temple when he found himself standing in front of his boys.

Smiling, Harry leaned against him. "I've got my bag packed. I'll shrink it down and then we'll go?"

Kreacher blinked rapidly. "Master Harry isn't staying home?"

"Ah... Teddy and I are staying with the Malfoys." Harry looked up, smiling slightly. "Unless you want to stay here? There are more rooms here and it's a Muggle neighborhood. We're near a park and all that."

Draco glanced at Scorpius for a moment, arched eyebrows raised. "Scorpius?"

"Yes! Yes! Ooh, please yes daddy!" The child clapped his hands excitedly, silver eyes swimming with happiness at the thought of a sleepover with his papa.

Harry grinned. "It'd be easy to bring over some of Scorpius's things." He leaned forward, whispered directly into Draco's ear. "And a third set of eyes on him wouldn't be a bad thing."

Draco rolled his own pair of eyes, cuffing Harry upside the head. "Keep it in your trousers, Potter." He glanced back down at the squiggling blonde head of hair in Harry's arms. "We'll go back after the picnic and get some of your things, ok Scorpius?" He tucked some hair behind his ear. "And maybe a bath, too."

Harry rubbed the back of his head, amused. "That isn't what I meant. Anyway, come on. If we don't go now, we'll be late. We'll be back soon, Kreacher."

"Kreacher will have dinner ready, Master Harry?"

Since his eyes were shining, Harry smiled. It wasn't often that Kreacher got to serve so many people. "Sure."

"Yes, Master Harry." He bowed low, his long ears touching the floor.

Scorpius giggled, tugging at Harry's shirt sleeve lightly to get his attention. "He's funny," he muttered, pointing to the elf still bowed to the floor.

"He's an excellent elf." There was an audible sniffle of tell-tale tears in the works, so Harry quickly gathered up some Powder. "Alright, Scorp, you first." He squatted down, smiling. "You ready?"

Scorpius gave an answering nod, wringing Perry in his hands as Draco stood, gazing fondly at his son, over Harry's shoulder.

"Atta boy." Harry pressed a light kiss to his head and threw a bit of the powder in. "Tonks's," he said clearly and gave Scorpius a gentle push through. He rose and faced Draco. "Last chance to change your mind, darling."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, uncrossing his arms and sauntering up to the brunette, fingers looping through belt loops and tugging him closer. Draco leaned down, eyes warm and hooded as he pressed their lips together. "About what?"

Harry laughed, touching their noses together. "About nothing. Your mind is clearly made up. "Tonks's," he said, tossing a wink over his shoulder before disappearing.

Draco's laughter followed Harry through the Floo, the blonde stepping out behind Harry a few moments later, a small smile still gracing his lips. He'd have to have a limit on those damn smiles or something, Malfoy's shouldn't smile this much.

A teal-haired boy vaulted himself at Harry, getting caught and lifted easily. "Bloody hell, Andromeda! What have you been feeding this devil?"

"Dragons," Teddy replied, his teeth suddenly sharp in his smile.

"Whole ones? That's impressive."

The boy laughed, squirming and jumping down from the hug. "I was kidding, Uncle Harry." He paused and stared at Draco, blinking. His hair went white-blonde. "You look like the boy who came through. He has a unicorn."

There was a frightened 'eep!' and Scorpius lunged at Draco's leg, coming out of his hiding spot behind the plain brown couch across the living room, clinging to the fabric and shaking as if his little life required to be pressed flush against his father's leg. "D-Dragons?"

Teddy pointed. "That's him!"

Harry smiled, ruffling hair that was now bubblegum pink. "That's Scorpius and his father Draco. Where's your grandmother?"

"In the kitchen. Is that a basket? Are we going on a picnic?" He smiled brightly at Scorpius. "Don't worry. There's no dragons. Grandma says we can't see real dragons. But Uncle Harry's seen one! He's rid one and everything!"

"That was a long time ago, Teddy." Harry threw a smile over his shoulder before wading past the hyper-active ten year old.

Scorpius gave a careful nod, taking in every word the other boy was saying before his eyes widened in pure shock and awe, a smidgen of glee thrown in with the bright crystal blue he got from his Grandmother. "Grandma? Grandma!" Scorpius hollered, throwing his hands up in the air with excited glee, chanting the word repeatedly as Draco gave a small groan. "Oi' ve, here we go." He muttered quietly.

Harry chuckled, swinging Scorpius onto his hip. "She's your aunt," he explained. "Your great-aunt. It's like a grandma, but a little different."

Scorpius nodded, lips forming a small 'o' as he glanced at 'daddy' over his 'papa's' shoulder. "Aunty see? Time to see Aunty?"

Draco smiled, giving a small caress to Scorpius's bright red cheek. "Silly child," he pressed a kiss to his forehead, a small, almost unnoticeable affectionate gesture from behind Harry's head, his attitude slightly different in the presence of company. "Whatever papa says." His whisper was quiet, only for Harry and the little boy clutched in his arms to hear. Oh, and Perry, of course.

Harry looked a little surprised before realization took over. Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy. "Yeah, Scorp, let's go meet your aunty."

The child's giggles followed him as Harry carried him off to find the leading lady of the house-hold, Draco following slowly a few feet behind, eyes taking in details of a home of those related by blood. The thought shocked him slightly.

Teddy scrambled off ahead, calling out to his grandmother. The woman turned from the stove, gazing at them as they entered. Harry no longer compared the woman to Bellatrix, having been in her company far too long to see her vile sister. He wrapped his free arm around her for a tight hug. "Hi, Andromeda."

"Harry," she greeted, giving him a loving squeeze. "It's been too long. Again. You should stop working so much."

His smile was all for Draco. "That's the plan, actually."

Draco ducked his head, his fringe falling in his face to cover the slow progression of colour against his cheeks. Scorpius, bless his little heart, saved the elder Malfoy from further embarrassment with a small giggle, drawing Andromeda's attention to the boy clutched almost possessively in Harry's arms.

Andromeda offered a smile that grew slowly. "So this is my little nephew?"

"Yeah. This is Scorpius."

"Oh, he has Cissy's eyes..." For a moment, she looked almost heartbroken before clearing her throat, turning her gaze on Draco. "Hello, nephew."

Draco gave a small, curt nod. "Aunt Andromeda," was his greeting.

Her chin angled haughtily. She'd married a muggleborn, but she remained every inch the well-bred pure-blood. Harry sighed. "Scorpius, why don't you introduce your aunty to Perry?"

She looked over. "Hm?"

"U-Um..." The little child fumbled under the heavy, criticizing gaze from Andromeda, juggling Perry in his hands before holding him out shakily, his little head bobbing left and right. "T-T-This is P-Perry..."

Harry set the boy down and Andromeda immediately went to his level, smiled warmly. "He's lovely. How old is he?"

Harry smiled at her and she gave him a nod. Taking the hint, he went to Draco and took his hands. "Are you alright?"

Draco nodded, face impassive as he glanced at his son who was averting his gaze away from the elder women and fumbling about with the buttons of his shirt as Perry was plopped by his feet, mumbling about the age of the "very-old" unicorn.

Harry watched Teddy run over and announce something excitable about a picnic, earning a laugh from Andromeda. "You're not alright," he murmured, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry. She's nervous about this too, you know."

"She left my family." His hand squeezed back slightly. "All I ever heard were horrible... cruel things about her..." He swallowed, eyes gazing forlornly at his son. "Of course they were from my father, but that doesn't make anything less... harsh. And even that word doesn't sound adequate."

Harry blinked. "Wha...? She married a Muggleborn and was blasted from the Black family's tapestry. She's an incredible woman."

"That doesn't mean that my mother was not forbidden to speak of her."

Sighing, Harry gave him a hug. "Give her a chance, Draco. For me?"

"I am, Harry. Believe me." He pressed his lips against the soft skin of Harry's neck. "It's just... hard." He pressed their body's close together, seeking something in the small form of comfort he let the other give. "My family disappeared after the war, it's awkward thinking I'm standing in a room with three people of the same bloodline."

Harry shook his head. "Draco, do you know how thrilled I'd be to end up in a room of relatives?" Anyone besides the Dursleys, at any rate. "I know it might be awkward, considering what you were raised being told, but... But you can't judge her based on that."

"I'm not judging her per se as just... trying to see past everything my father has drilled into my head." He pressed a kiss to Harry's temple, rubbing circles against Harry's lower back for more of his own comfort than the brunette's. "I'm trying, truly."

"Sometimes," he murmured, "I'll look at her and tense a little because of how close she looks to Bellatrix. So I know it's hard. But Teddy seems happy to you, doesn't he? She's made sure of that."

Draco gave a small smile, just a curve of his lips as he gazed at Teddy who sat explaining something about a Muggle book he had read (or tried to, anyhow) and Scorpius was listening with rapt attention, Perry clutched to his chest as Scorpius gazed on in awe. Andromeda was smiling down at the two, Draco's worries slowly beginning to drift to the back of his mind. "Yes, yes... I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," he joked, lifting a hand to Draco's cheek. "I love you."

He leaned into the warm touch, eyes drifting close. "You too, Harry."

"Uncle Harry! Are you and cousin Draco going to kiss? Scorpius says you kiss," Teddy called and Harry chuckled quietly.

Draco felt another one of those ridiculous blushes spread across his cheeks, his head falling down against Harry's shoulder. "Ok, I take it back. I don't think my Malfoy pride can handle two rambunctious children."

"No one's pride can," Andromeda said quietly, offering a hesitant smile.

Draco gave a small curve of his lips, turning his head back to meet Harry's eyes. He hadn't meant for the elder women to hear.

"She's really good ears; what can I say?" Smiling, Harry drew back, but kept a hand in Draco's. He knelt beside the boys, Teddy immediately scooting against him. "So how are you getting along with Teddy, Scorp?"

The little blonde boy giggled, his silver eyes wide and his hair mussed with the amount of times he had run this hands through it in awe at the thrilling stories the other little boy had spewed. "He-" the little child threw Perry in the air, falling on his back and catching him, rolling around and giggling while clutching the unicorn tightly. "-is awesome!"

Teddy grinned at Harry. "See? I'm awesome."

"You're very awesome," Harry agreed, tousling his hair.

Draco chuckled nervously, kneeling down next to Harry, his palm slicked with sweat. "I must agree, from what my son has already said."

Teddy smiled brightly, his hair going white-blonde again. He reached out and touched Draco's sleeve. "Grandma says you're my cousin. I thought my family was all gone 'cept for Grandma."

He gave a small smile, fingers gently clasping over the small hand. "Yes, you're Grandmother was my mother's sister." He nodded his head to affirm his thoughts, his gaze traveling over the wide stare and high cheek bones. He really was related, wasn't he?

Teddy looked up at Harry, received a small nod, and pressed himself snugly against Draco, his arms coming tightly around the blonde as his hair went to its natural brown shade. "Are you gonna marry Uncle Harry so he can be part of my family for real?" he asked, voice muffled against the older man's chest.

Draco stiffened, arms slowly, cautiously, looping around the lithe little boy as he calmly patted the ever-changing hair. Now, Draco had always been very prideful of being able to keep his emotions in check, and at that moment, he would of jumped for joy at being able to keep his expression stoic. "I-I..." His words? Not so much.

Harry smiled, lifting a hand to Draco's cheek. "What if I want to marry him?"

"That's okay too," Teddy decided.

The blonde spluttered indignantly, his arms suddenly full of a wiggling blonde child. "Yay! Papa! Papa! Marry him daddy! Marry him! I wan' 'im to be my real papa!" Draco groaned, cheeks heating up as he buried his face in Scorpius's hair. Sweet Salazar have mercy.

Andromeda smiled. "Why don't you start with your picnic first and see how that goes?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, chuckling. "That alright with you boys?"

Teddy huffed. "Okaaaaay."

Scorpius giggled, nodding from his position seated on his father's chest who huffed indignantly, lying strewn across the floor. "Well Potter, if your godson wants you to be a part of the family so much, I think you can take care of your supposed 'son,' who happens to be crushing a few vital organs."

Harry laughed, swooping the boy up into his arms as he stood. He spun him around. "I think Scorpius would make a fantastic son."

Scorpius giggled, hands pressed firmly against Harry's cheeks, Perry pressed between his mini-chest and Harry's. "Papa!"

Draco just gave a roll of his slate coloured his eyes, mentally trying to calm his rapidly pounding heart from the earlier conversation of marriage. For Salazar's sake, they weren't even dating! Yes, they had admitted rather... deep feelings, had some amazing sex and Harry was helping Draco with Scorpius more than Draco could even comprehend, but marriage? The Malfoy groaned as he stood, dusting off his trousers and glancing at his son with a raised eyebrow. "Shall we get on with this little picnic then, or are you going to run off with my son to your little Weasel-" he paused. "-ley family home and leave me here?"

Harry chuckled, nuzzling Scorpius fondly. "Picnic," he decided. "Andromeda, I'll bring Teddy back once my vacation's up?"

She waved a hand, smiling. "Yes. I'll see you then."

Scorpius giggled happily, clapping his hands as he was passed to Draco so Harry could attend to Teddy, Draco taking his son fondly and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Ready to go, Scorpius?"

"Yes, daddy!"

"And Perry?"

"All ready!"

Draco chuckled warmly, his world practically zoning in to only encompass the little blonde child in his arms who he gave a warm peck on the forehead to. "Good."

Teddy grinned widely. "I'm ready to go too!"

Harry ruffled bright orange hair. "Alright. Now pick a color and stick with it since we're going to the park."

It immediately went as dark as Harry's and the brunette laughed. "That works."

Draco shook his head, adjusting Scorpius against his hip and waving a hand at the two. "Off with you then, to the park." Scorpius cheered loudly, clapping his hands and waving at the witch behind them as Draco followed Harry out of the room. "Byebye Aunty 'dromeda!"

"Goodbye, Aunt Andromeda." Draco echoed with a hesitant smile and a courteous nod over his shoulder.

She returned both the smile and the nod. "Goodbye, nephew."


	10. Autumn Gold

Chapter 10

_Autumn Gold_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"Oooh! Daddy! Look at all the pretty leaves!"

Draco chuckled, patting Scorpius's bright blonde hair. "Yes Scorpius, the seasons are changing. Which means zip your coat back up." The little answering pout was followed by a huff and the sound of a zipper.

Teddy skipped just ahead, little blonde streaks having appeared in his dark hair. He'd promised not to change it more than that, so Harry had let it slide. His own coat was flapping open. "Ted, if Scorpius has to zip his up, so do you."

He looked back, lips pursed as he studied the smaller boy, and then jerked his zipper half up. "Scorpius, c'mon!" He bounded over, grasped the younger boy's hand. "We'll find the best spot ever."

The little boy giggled as his feet were placed on the floor from his position against Draco's hip, his one hand grasping at Teddy's while his other clutched Perry's hoof tightly. "Ok! Let's go!" Draco gave a shake of his head, ever-so slightly oblivious to the stares from the general public.

Harry tucked an arm around Draco's waist, smiling after the boys. "Stay in sight."

Teddy waved a hand to show he'd heard, but continued on.

Scorpius's laughter was heard as he ran behind the elder child, a wide smile set against his lips, Perry plopping down against his leg.

"Be careful, Scorpius!" Draco called, eyes trailing after the boy as he leaned slightly into Harry's touch. "Oh I hope he doesn't trip..."

"He'll be fine. Teddy's a good kid; he'll take care of him. He takes care of Hugo, too. Ron and Hermione's son," he clarified.

"I'm just worried he'll trip. Scorpius's blood is extremely thin." His eyes trailed after the little blonde boy, worry evident in the close lines of his face. "Where should we set up the picnic basket?"

"Let them pick." Harry brushed his lips against Draco's temple. "He'll be okay."

Draco nodded, a hand dropping down to grasp at Harry's before it suddenly fell to the side, his face dropping into an impassive mask like the flick of a wand.

"Draco Malfoy!"

"Mr. Malfoy, sir!"

"Mr. Malfoy, what do you have to say to the accusations of starting up another cult of Death Eaters, to bring back another Dark Lord?"

"Harry Potter? Blimey!"

"Shite," Harry muttered, tightening his grip around Draco's waist. He'd been hoping to avoid magic folk in a Muggle park.

Lucky for them, it was fairly early, so most Muggles were out having lunch with their families. Scorpius, Draco, Harry and Teddy were only surrounded by a few other stray families and a few couples; the Wizarding Press essentially had free reign.

"Mr. Malfoy doesn't have any comments on those ridiculous accusations, so leave us be."

The balding press man puffed his chest out and adjusted the ruddy brown fedora perched across his bulbous sized head. "Mr. Potter, please. If you do not mind, I am trying to interview Mr. Malfoy, not yourself. I'm pleased to see you trying to rectify past transgressions with this..." he mustached lip curled. "Death Eater... but I'd prefer to just interview," his eyes raked over Malfoy like a he knew the story he was about to publish would make him rich enough to soothe whatever sort of... fetishes he had. "Just Mr. Malfoy." Draco's stomach rolled.

"He isn't interested in an interview," Harry said quietly, voice strong with authority. "With anyone."

Draco froze as he saw Scorpius turn around, gazing at his father questioningly. He saw the little blonde boy tug at Teddy's sleeve, motioning to the two adults and the small swarm of flashing cameras. The Muggles looked on in confusion, thinking that there was an unknown celebrity in their midst's.

Teddy shook his head, taking a firmer hold of Scorpius's sleeve. Uncle Harry always told him to stay away from the camera people. Harry pushed passed them, bringing Draco along. "We'll find an apparition point and go to a different park," he murmured.

"No." Draco shook his head, his eyes glaring at the few cameramen who stood behind them, still snapping shots of the shockingly powerful magical duo. "Let them see that I'm not affected. I refuse to hide from them any longer, not since the divorce."

Harry nodded, keeping his arm firmly around Draco as they went. "As you like, love."

Gasps resounded from behind them, sending a cold smirk pushing at Draco's lips as he wrapped an arm around Harry's waist in return. "Blubbering idiots."

Harry smiled slightly. "I try not to let them bother me anymore. It's when I'm with Teddy that I worry; he's still too young to have to deal with them. And I don't want Scorpius to be harassed by them, either."

"Neither do I." Draco turned his head, glancing farther away, hair whipping against the wind as he called out, "Scorpius! Teddy! That's far enough!"

Teddy stopped and looked back, smiling. "Okay!"

Harry chuckled. "We're pretty close to the water. That okay?"

Draco nodded, "It's perfectly fine, Scorpius loves the water when he isn't in it. ...Until he gets in it." The blonde's nose crinkled in vain amusement.

"Teddy loves the water. I have a feeling he'd convince Scorpius to get in." Harry grinned. This felt nice, he realized. This felt like... family, and Harry was so unused to that feeling unless he was with the Weasleys. It almost scared him how easily that feeling came with Draco and Scorpius; it had come before the love. And now that the love was there too...

Harry reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Draco's ear. Now that the love was there, it was becoming entirely too easy to imagine this family as his. "I'll tell Ted no water when we sit down, nip that in the bud before it becomes an issue."

"Water has always been an issue. It was an issue when you showed up in our lives a week and a half ago, and it'll still be a problem in a year." The blonde groaned, hands coming to rub at his eyes, the flashes from those bloody cameras had irritated the silver-hued pupils immensely, the kiss against his head giving a small soothe to his worries for the moment.

Harry drew him into a hug, lifting a hand up to his cheek. "They're bright right in your face like that, aren't they? I charmed my glasses a few years ago to block most of the light."

"I haven't been in front of the cameras in a long while, I normally had a charm for it, to reflect the light back on the photographers. Sneaky little charm that gto them to leave me well-enough alone." Draco answered, eyes drifting from sun-kissed cheeks to those red with exertion, Scorpius playing a game of tag with Teddy. Draco sat up slightly, leaning out of Harry's grasp. "Scorpius! Come back towards us please, you're done playing for a while."

Teddy paused, eyes going to Harry. He opened his mouth to protest and was interrupted before it could start. "You too, Teddy. Let's eat." He lowered his voice and looked back at Draco. "Should I tell Teddy not to play so much?"

"Just to take it easy for a while would be best. Scorpius's lungs can't really handle tag, maybe hide-and-seek?" He reached forward to drag the picnic basket closer, wand weighing heavily in his pocket, his hand aching to reach for it after so long. But in the presence of Muggles, even Draco knew his limitations.

"Alright. I'll suggest it. He won't be too difficult to convince. I'm just glad they're getting along."

"Daddy! Papa!" Scorpius giggled, rushing over and collapsing between Harry and Draco's legs. His little chest was rising, heart pounding as he clutched Perry to his chest with a wide smile, mouth moving with reckless abandon. "Teddy- caught a 'utterfly- duckies! And- muggly-people-" Draco gave a small chuckle, placing a hand on Scorpius's forehead, tsking at the raise in temperature.

"Breathe, Scorpi." The little child giggled at the nickname.

Teddy dropped down, grinning widely. "Scorpius is lots of fun!" he exclaimed.

With a laugh, Harry retrieved a plate and filled it up with the things Teddy liked most. "It looked like you two were having plenty of fun."

Scorpius nodded, silently chewing on a small piece of an apple Draco had handed him, face slowly losing its bright red flush and returning to its trademark Malfoy pallor.

Teddy snuggled up against Harry, munching happily on one of the muffins. "Can we play some more after we eat?"

"Only if you eat slowly," Harry advised, more for Scorpius's benefit than for Teddy's. "And why don't you play a different game? Like hide-n-seek?"

His face lit with pure glee. "I like that game! Okay!"

Scorpius glanced up from his apple slice, breathing slowly. "Really? Can I play?" Draco let a small smile press against his lips after glancing around for a moment. He refused to let the press get any news on him, or Scorpius. Not since the diagnosis of being ill a few years previous. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the small boy's temple, Scorpius sitting with his legs pressed wide, shaggy blonde hair falling in wide, excited silver eyes as he played with Perry in his legs, pretend-feeding him apple slices. (But he didn't know that.)

"Yeah!" Teddy agreed quickly, picking up his sandwich. He tore off the crust first, stuffing the pieces into his mouth.

Harry chuckled. "Slow down, Ted. You're acting like you haven't eaten in a week."

"But I wanna go play, Uncle Harry!"

Scorpius giggled, holding out a small slice to the other boy, nibbling on one with his other hand.

Teddy took the proffered fruit, grinning. "Thanks."

"Well that's a curious looking clone," a voice suddenly said. "He's awfully little, though."

Harry looked up and over, laughing when he saw who it was. "Luna?"

"Hello, Harry." She smiled, wand tucked behind her ear, and slid her gaze to the elder Malfoy. "Hello, Draco. And Teddy and clone."

Teddy started to laugh, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. "He's not a clone, Aunt Luna! He's cousin Draco's son."

"That's possible too, I suppose."

"Hello there, Luna," Draco greeted in passing, nodding his head to her politely as he gazed down at his son, adjusting the jacket slightly and ruffling his hair.

The blonde sank down onto their blanket without invitation and studied Scorpius curiously. "He's very little."

"I think he's an okay size," Teddy said, immediately sticking up for his new friend.

Harry smiled and ruffled his hair. "What brings you this way, Luna?"

"I was following the waddling whizbees. Very curious creatures." She stared passed them, big eyes dreamy. "They come to a woman when they're pregnant. I was wanting to ask them what I was having."

Teddy giggled. Aunt Luna always had the funnest stories. "What do they look like?"

"Like waddling whizbees aught," she replied, smiling fondly at him. "Your hair looks perfectly ordinary today," she complimented and earned another laugh.

Scorpius starred at her, head tilting to the side, fringe falling against a reddened nose. "Whisss-whiszs-" His little tongue poked out from between his lips, his nose scrunching in confusion, just as his father's does in amusement. "W-What?" Scorpius gazed up at his father, Perry pausing in his "play" between the little child's stubby legs.

Chuckling, Harry reached out and ruffled his hair. "This is my old friend Luna. Her father runs a whole magazine."

Scorpius gasped, hands clenching against Perry slightly. "A whole magasthine-"

"Maga-zeen, Scorpius," Draco correctly softly, gazing at Luna with curious eyes. "How are you, Luna? I apologize for not having spoken more with you in our Hogwarts days." Well he was just full of daisies and sunshine today, wasn't he? Apologizing to the girl that all his house did was make fun of? He shrugged inwardly. Draco himself had no qualms against the blonde women, wishing to surprisingly get to know her when they both had attended Hogwarts.

"Well, there was the time when you told one of your friends to not push me down the stairs in front of Professor Flitwick, which was very nice of you." She blinked at him. "Are you and Harry friends now? He seemed awfully obsessed with you during school."

"Thanks, Luna..."

She smiled at the blush rising in Harry's cheeks. "You're welcome."

Draco blinked, his silver eyes darting over to the man next to him. "Obsessed?" Scorpius gazed on in silence.

"I wasn't obsessed."

"I told him once to just kiss you, of course, since you seemed just as obsessed with him. But Harry refused."

"Luna-"

"Would you have kissed back?" she wondered, curious eyes on Draco.

Draco gave a small smirk. "You wanted to kiss me," he leaned back against his hand, shirt stretching across broad shoulders and lifting slightly to reveal pale, milky skin against his stomach. "-huh, Potter?"

"Shove off, Malfoy. I can kiss you whenever I like."

Teddy, meanwhile, had picked up the rest of his sandwich and got to his feet, beckoning for Scorpius to follow him while the adults were distracted.

"Oh?" Malfoy chided, obliviously to the weight lifting against his legs as his son took off towards the lake, Perry in tow. "-and what if I objected to you 'kissing me whenever you liked?'"

Harry's smile was nothing if not smug. "You wouldn't."

Draco leaned forward, brushing their lips together, hair dusting against Harry's nose. "You want to test that theory, Potter?"

He lifted a hand, tangling it in Draco's hair to keep him in place and tilted his head slightly. His lips rubbed against Draco's as he spoke. "I think my hypothesis will win."

Draco chuckled, the sound rumbling low in his throat. "That's a big word there, Potter." He drew Harry's bottom lip between his teeth.

"I have an impressive vocabulary, I'll have you know." On a soft sound, Harry crushed his lips onto Draco's, tongue gliding over them, silently requesting entrance.

Draco pressed back gently, kneading his lips against Harry's before pulling away completely to rest against the ground near Harry, hands behind his head. "Mm, I think that right there constitutes as an 'I win.'"

"Hardly." Harry rolled atop the blonde, Luna entirely forgotten as he captured Draco's warm lips again.

Draco's body shuddered, his heart beating almost tangibly in his chest as his chest rose and fell shakily, his lips molding against the brunette's perfectly. "Y-You're cruel, Potter."

"No, I'm winning." He sat up, grinning. "I can kiss you whenever I like."

The blonde hummed as he gazed back up at the sky, silver eyes swimming with unreadable emotions. "We'll see about that."

Harry stroked his cheek gently. "Draco," he murmured, "wha-?"

He was interrupted by squeals and pounding feet. Teddy flew at him, eyes big and wide, hair a rather alarming shade of red. "Teddy, what did I tell you about... Where's Scorpius?"

Teddy could only point, breath hitching, and the boy was passed off to Luna as Harry vaulted to his feet and rushed off.

Draco's world seem to come to a complete stop, his body reacting before his mind could process Harry already rushing down towards the lake. "S-Scorpius..." He stood, albeit on shaky legs, darting behind the brunette and rushing towards the lake, thoughts running haywire throughout his skull. What had happened? Had Scorpius fallen in? Did he trip and break something? Did he have an allergic reaction to something he shouldn't have eaten? He had Harry had made sure that they packed nothing the little blonde child couldn't eaten. Draco's throat closed up, his eyes widening as he approached the lake, his legs burning. "Scorpius!" His little boy was collapsed against the ground, face almost blue and blotchy, coughs racking his chest violently as he clutched at his throat. He rushed forward, falling to his knees and pulling Scorpius into his arms. "Harry-!"

Harry gathered them both up, snapping off a Patronus. After the second try, the stag burst out. "It'll- Luna," he managed, fear constricting his words and he apparated on the spot.

Draco lurched as he felt the tell-tale sign of apparating twisting in his stomach. His knees groaned in protest, his arms tightening around Scorpius's shuttering body as they hit hard, stone floor.

"Death Eater- look-"

"What is he holding?"

"Who is that? - With the dark hair?"

The whispers started almost instantaneously, the on-call nurses glaring from the desk down at the man who they all knew by his tell-tale blonde hair. "Mr. Malfoy! What is it this time?"

Harry stood, bringing Draco with him and turning steely green eyes on the nurses. "I wasn't aware that it was hospital policy to snap at those in need."

"M-M-Mr. Potter! Sir!" The nurses on call rushed forward, a few trying to keep back a swarm of waiting patients as they tried to get a look at the famous Boy-Who-Lived.

Instantly Draco and Scorpius were swept up, Scorpius being pulled from Draco's arms rather forcefully as the father seemed to not want to let go, even though no questions were asked for him to even come close to releasing the boy from his arms.

"No spells," Harry said quickly, taking Draco's hand and giving it a squeeze. It was to comfort and reassure the father as much as it was for himself. "If they can be avoided. Someone call Healer Weasley!"

The nurses nodded, one particularly calling out orders to get a stretcher, one being conjured almost immediately as they whisked Scorpius away to a room somewhere in the hospital.

"Healer Weasley, to the emergency desk immediately." The message played from somewhere across the hospital, repeating itself twice before shutting off. Draco let out a small noise, gripping Harry's hand harshly, his own shaking violently.

Hermione was there within moments, took one look at Harry and Draco and her eyes went wide. "What's happened?"

"Scorp..." Harry gestured weakly, shivering. With Hermione in sight, his charge of the situation vanished. "He... He ran off with Teddy? And... we don't know. He wasn't breathing right."

She nodded. "I'll be right back. Take them to a waiting room," she said to no one in particular and scurried off with surprising speed for a pregnant woman.

"We made s-sure n-not to pack anything he wasn't allergic to..." Draco felt his knees shake. "We... o-oh Merlin..." His heart sunk in his chest.

"It's okay." Harry latched a supportive arm around Draco, following a medi-witch to a private waiting area. She kept giving Draco wary stares, but Harry didn't have the focus required to snap at her. His heart was racing, mind going just as fast with visions that terrified him. "He'll be okay."

"N-No Harry! It's not okay!" His hands yanked through his hair. "How did I not think of it? Scorpius..." he waved his hands around like it would make his non-tangible thought more real. "...has a tendency to develop reactions to things that he hadn't had before. It could be the simplest thing as the damn toothpaste he uses in the morning." His heart tore. Oh his son... Why hadn't he been more overcautious?

"It'll be okay," he repeated, waving the medi-witch away sharply. He sank heavily into a chair. "Hermione'll take care of it. He'll be okay..."

"My son, Harry..." Draco sank back against a chair, wishing to just curl up, or even wake up and hope that the problems went away. His little boy was somewhere, here in St. Mungo's, being tested with Merlin knows what to figure out what had happened... Draco felt like he couldn't breathe.

"I know." Harry reached out, taking his hands. "He'll be okay."

He laced their fingers shakily, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat, his thoughts rushing around to find something that he had missed. Maybe... maybe he could... "W-We'll..." he licked his dry lips. "We'll need to t-talk to Teddy... and notify Andromeda..."

"Luna's got him. She'll take him to Number Twelve and keep him entertained a while." He lifted Draco's hands to his lips, brushed light kisses over the knuckles. He couldn't seem to stop trembling. "Hermione can take care of him. She's read his files, done scans on him. She'll know what to do."

"W-Well..." his hands tightened. "It might be m-more beneficial to extract memories for a pensieve, or talk to Luna... or.,." Draco's wide, watery silver eyes fell to the ground, his fringe coming to sweep across his forehead. "I'm not ready to lose my boy Harry... not him." He pressed his lips against Harry's knuckle, "please tell me Hermione knows what she is doing... I don't trust those nurses with him."

"Hermione knows what she's doing. She's brilliant. Everything's going to be okay. I promise." Merlin, he hoped that wasn't a promise he'd break. He didn't want Scorpius to die, either. Oh... He'd been blue and shaking and... Harry blocked the image from his mind. "I love you, Draco."

Draco's hand, shaking and cold, lifted to rest against Harry's cheek, his face leaning forward to press their lips together. "H-Harry..." He swallowed, thoughts swimming as he tried to pull a cool, calm and collected expression against his high cheeks and wavering silver eyes. The expression fell, Draco's forehead thudding against Harry's. "I'm scared."

"I know," Harry whispered. "I know you are, Draco. I am too. But it's going to be okay." He lifted a hand to Draco's on his cheek, covering it gently. "He's got the best healer in the entire hospital and she knows his case."

"Harry, Draco?"

Draco's head jerked up, hissing slightly at the friction of skin against skin. "H-Hermione-" He cleared his throat, eyes almost unreadable in its swimming emotions. "Healer Weasley."

"I'll tell you first, he's going to be just fine. He's asleep now, but he's breathing evenly and his heart rate's steady."

Harry blew out a haggard breath, holding Draco's hands tightly. "But what was wrong?"

She sighed, rubbing her belly in slow circles. "He's developed a new allergy. Hazelnuts."

"Hazel-?" Harry broke off, huffed. "I never did like nutella," he grumbled.

Draco looked at the brunette's, a confused gaze pulling at his features. "What? Allergy?" His gaze flickered between Harry, and Hermione's knowledgeable gaze. "What do you mean? Scorpius has always had nutella, it's one of his favorite foods besides apples..." His hand searched around behind him, seeing out Harry's grasp.

Harry held on, gently rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb. "Hermione...?"

"Nut allergies are fairly common, Draco. They can develop at any time, really. And this could very well be something that goes away." She shook her head. "This really came out of nowhere, though. There was no sign of it at all yesterday."

"Can I..." He swallowed, licking at lips, sucking the lower one between his teeth and gnawing on it, fingers tightening, fidgeting against Harry's hand. "Can I see him? Can I see Scorpius?"

"Of course you can." She gestured, smiling. "Both of you can."

"Please, please Hermione." Draco shook his head, blonde hair falling against his nose. "Take me to him, I need to see my son."

"Come along, then. He's in the children's ward." She saw no reason to tell them that the medi-witches had originally tried to take him down a hall they rarely used to keep him away from the "normal" patients. He was normal.

Draco nodded anxiously, hands pulling away to wring his own together, behind his back, following Hermione with cool, collected footsteps. He refused to let the people sitting in those "waiting" chairs, those wizards and witches staring at him like he was some form of a disease think that he wasn't calm, that he wasn't collected, that he wasn't a Malfoy. He was still Draco Malfoy... just a few... added limbs, and a little face... Merlin he needed to see his son.

Harry kept close to Draco, tucking an arm around him, laying his hand on the blonde's waist. "After we see him, why don't I go to Number Twelve and make sure I don't have anything hazelnut related there? And then I'll go to your place and make sure, too."

Draco nodded, swallowing past the violent lump in his throat, body pressing against Harry's side. "I... Yes, yes, okay." Draco's body stiffened, Hermione waving towards a door a few feet in front of them.

"Just in here," she supplied.

Harry nodded before they slipped in. "You'll stay here?"

"Yes."

Draco grasped the door-handle firmly with a small nod back at Hermione, over his shoulder. With a shaky hand, the door-handle turned down, the door, white and bleak, opened slowly. It didn't creak, it didn't moan in protest at the motion, and Draco's heart sunk at the silence, his chest practically bearing down on him, crushing his heart as bile rose in his throat. Scorpius lay unconscious on a small, white cot, tubes and wires running around his lithe, extremely thin body, through his nose and around his face. His breathing was shallow, his face not the normal Malfoy pallor, just a few shades lighter, as if the child has never seen the sun. The blue tone to his lips and cheeks had faded, but small little whimpers left his throat as if Scorpius still couldn't breathe. Scorpius's hair was disheveled, as if whipped by the wind, the gown placed over his shoulder wrinkled as if he was given one that had not been washed previously, and was shrunken down to fit his abnormally small body.

"O-Oh Scorpius..." Draco rushed forward.

"We couldn't do any magic on him, naturally, and the medi-witches are all rather unused to more Muggle methods." But Hermione had spent a couple of years at a Muggle hospital, so she knew better than they had. "I know seeing all these tubes is odd, but..."

But they'd been necessary. Harry nodded mutely, dragging a chair over to the side of the bed as close as it could get. He didn't sit, though, leaning over Scorpius and gently touching his cheek. It was terrifying, seeing the little happy boy like this.

Draco clutched Scorpius's hands, and as the door shut firmly, Hermione outside in the hall, tears poured down Draco's cheeks, his body convulsing with sobs as he gazed at his son. "O-Oh Scorpius... Scorp..."

Harry slid an arm tightly around his waist, shivering as he held onto his lover. His other hand remained on Scorpius's cheek. "Godric," he whispered.

Draco felt as if his knees were going to collapse under him. Scropius's skin was cold, or did Draco's hand feel unusually hot against his child's hand?

"Harry..." He pressed a kiss to Scorpius's forehead. "We need to figure this out." His silver eyes, wide with determination despite the tears turned to almost glare at the brunette in determination. "We will figure this out Harry, and immediately. I refuse to sit here while my son is for all the sense of the word dying, and all these blubbering so-called 'nurses' just stand by and gossip."

"We'll figure it out, Draco. I hate seeing him like this. I don't want to see him like this ever again."

Draco nodded his head, reassured for just a moment before he waved a hand at the brunette. "Go check on Teddy and Luna. I'll be here when you return." The blonde sat in the chair that Harry had pulled up, hands grasped firmly around Scorpius's, eyes never leaving the small boy's face.

Harry lowered down, brushing Scorpius's hair away to place a light kiss on his brow. He kissed Draco as he straightened again, leaving his fingertips on the man's face. "I'll be back soon."

Draco pressed their lips together solidly for a few moments before pulling away with a nod. "Stay safe." With a small graze of his fingertips against Harry's cheek, Draco turned back to Scorpius, caressing the little boy's cheek softly, eyes guarded as he gazed down at his son. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

"I will. I love you." He squeezed Scorpius's hand. "Feel better, little man," he murmured and went out, nodding to Hermione as he passed her.

Draco sat back against the chair, eyes almost glazing over as thoughts swam through his head like a wading pool. His thumb grazed back and forth, almost minutely against Scorpius's small, cold-skinned hand. "Oh Scorpius... I wanted a better life for you. I'm..." He couldn't bring himself to utter a simple apology, his heart twisting tear-jerkingly in his chest.


	11. Lubsk Queen

Chapter 11

_Lubsk Queen_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

There was almost too much nutella in Draco's house to handle. Harry sighed, flicking his wand carefully to vanish everything. An accio hazelnut had nearly ended with him bowled over by jars and things. Who knew hazelnuts were in so much stuff? But he'd never forgive himself if he left anything behind. He wasn't going to be responsible for making Scorpius sick.

With everything cleared there, he went to Grimmauld Place. "Master Harry?"

"Hi, Kreacher. Could you help me? I need every bit of hazelnut cleared out of here, along with everything on this list." He'd gotten a list of all of Scorpius's allergens from Hermione, deciding that he just needed to get everything out of the way if they were going to stay with him.

Kreacher took the list and nodded. "Kreacher will, Master Harry."

"Good. Thanks. I have to go get Teddy now. He'll be here on his own a while. Make sure he stays out of certain places once you've finished clearing the house of everything on that list, yeah?"

Kreacher knew what those certain places were, so nodded rapidly. "Yes, Master Harry."

"Grand. Thanks." He chucked some powder into the floo and stepped through.

-

"Come in," the words were muttered softly, Draco still sat next to Scorpius's bed, large pale hands clasped firmly around the small, slowly warming hand of his son.

Harry stepped in, sighing quietly. "He's still out, then?"

Draco gave a small jump at Harry's voice, Scorpius's hand slipping out of his father's grasp to thunk down against the bed. Draco had expected it to be another nurse, coming to glare at them and begrudgingly check Scorpius's vitals. "Harry," he gave a small, petulant sigh of relief, hands lifting to grasp Scorpius's once more.

"Draco." Harry walked up, covered his hand over his son's and sighed. He sank down onto the edge of the bed. "How is he?"

"Same as when you left, just slightly warmer." The blonde shrugged, disheveled hair falling into wary silver eyes as his thumb stroked back and forth against Scorpius's hand. Draco hadn't moved once since Harry had left, refusing to leave should Scorpius wake or a nurse try and curse the defenseless boy.

"Okay." Harry reached out, brushed Draco's bangs to the side. "How are you doing, love?"

Draco leaned into the touch minutely before leaning back against the chair with a huff, "Exhausted. Worried for my child who is currently on his preempting death bed?" He shook his head, leaning forward to rest a hand against Scorpius's forehead and kiss his cheek. "I'm worried," was the almost unheard reply.

"I know you are. Teddy was, too. I told him everything would be alright and now he's with Kreacher. Luna says she'll send some mercurial mufters our way. Apparently, they're excellent for healing. But I somehow doubt they exist." Harry sighed, pushing his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose. "Hermione says he'll be fine by tonight at the rate he's going."

"Who knows with him?" The words left his lips in a sigh, Draco eye's gazing forlornly at the tuft of blonde hair and closed eyes, hidden behind the lids lay troubled eyes of bright silver with just a tint of precious, precious blue. His child, Scorpius... his son. "Oh Scorpius." His hands shook minutely. "Please, wake up..." Draco's forehead fell against the edge of the bed.

Harry shifted on the bed, let Draco's head rest in his lap. He gently stroked the other man's hair, offering whatever comfort he could. "Talk to me," he murmured. "Tell me what you've been doing with your life. I haven't seen you since the trials, after all. And it'll give us something else to think about."

"Yet we've already had sex and admitted to loving each other like damned Hufflepuffs and my son seems to cling to you like a second appendage." Draco glanced up at the other through the fringe of his hair, not really shocked at the sudden change of position. "Are we doing things backwards here, Potter?"

"Yes, we are." Harry grinned. "My life hasn't been anything even resembling normal, so I suppose I never exactly expected my love life to be anything less. So tell me. Where've your parents gone?"

Draco's expression dropped, his head turning to allow his white-blonde locks to fall back against his face as his shoulders tensed slightly, Draco tightening his hand around Scorpius slightly. "Have to be blunt as ever, eh Potter?" A pregnant pause passed. "My mum is gone, and my father... Let's just say that he is gone as well."

Harry blew out a breath. "Well... I'm sorry. I owed her... a really big debt."

"Oh, she'll come back for it eventually," he muttered into the pristine yet slightly musty bedsheets. "She's alive Potter, don't doubt that..." he turned his head back into his arms. "Just... gone. I haven't exactly heard from her since the wedding, nor for Scorpius's birth, diagnosis, or to even wish me a pleasant birthday."

Harry stared. "That's ridiculous. Why would they...? Where would they have gone? You all seemed so..." Harry gestured uselessly, unsure what to do with that information.

Draco shrugged, giving a small, blatant sigh. "You've seen the general public Harry. At least I am only partially," he stressed the word with a crinkled nose, "hated by the Wizarding populace. My mother and father on the other hand... Some people believed me to have been forced to become a Death Eater." His arms shifted as he readjusted himself, and gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts. "And who better to 'force' me into servitude than dear ol' mummy and daddy?"

"That's no reason for them to abandon you. I didn't keep them out of bloody Azkaban so they could do that. Scorpius doesn't even know them?"

Draco moved a hand out from under his head, tucking his own hair back behind his ear to glance up at Harry from the corner of his eyes. "He met her... once."

"That doesn't sound like it was a very good meeting." Harry reached out, cupped his cheek. "Just tell me the whole story, will you? I'll answer anything you want after. I want to know what happened to that unit I saw in the Great Hall that day."

Draco didn't need to ask what the brunette referred to when he mentioned 'that day.' He gave a sigh, leaning into the touch almost gratefully. The blonde's lips moved before his brain could catch up with him, his hand stroking Scorpius's arm gently in-time with his words. He proceeded to, very quietly, tell Harry about Scorpius's second birthday, which happened to be the seventh anniversary of Voldemort's death - he stuttered over the name, but barrelled on through. Seven, of course, being the 'magical number' that it was made Narcissa Malfoy nee' Black feel the need to reconcile lost ties with her son that she had created after the war, causing the blonde-brown haired women to appear at the doors to Malfoy Manor one foggy, dew-filled morning, shocked to find a lithe little blonde boy open the door with big, silver eyes full of questions at the obvious Malfoy-related person standing at his door. Of course, Narcissa flipped shite, (Draco laughed raspy at his own choice of words, never figuring to associate them with his mother of all people) and stormed past the boy and proceeded to scream her head off, demanding to know when 'her precious son had procreated and why he had not invited her to a baby shower, or let her plan for her first grandchild's birth!' Draco had showed her the door almost immediately after he tried to explain (after rushing down the stairs, scared to the ends of his hair by the screeching that echoed through the Manor) that he had invited his mother to the Manor for Scorpius's birth, and his one year birthday and had received no reply. Narcissa proceeded to scream about an illegitimate child, and something of the befuddled sort about never teaching him what he should of at that blasted school and that his father should of taught him better - all while being escorted off the property by a few tear-jerked House Elves at the sight of their once-beloved mistress in such obvious (maybe not to her) distress. Scorpius had been in tears by the time it was all over.

Harry pulled Draco up, taking his seat and tugging the blonde into his lap. "I'm sorry," he whispered, holding him. "I never thought they'd estrange themselves from you..."

Draco blinked at the sudden shift in sitting, his hand still clasped firmly around Scorpius. "U-Um, yeah." He shook his head. Um, yeah? Was he delusional? "What about your home life, Potter?"

The brunette frowned, nuzzling him gently. "I don't exactly have one. Hermione and Ron got married not long after the war and had Hugo a couple of years later and the rest of the Weasleys are pairing off as well. I haven't had half the lovers the Prophet likes to say, so... I've got the Weasleys, Teddy... and I have my job."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant, Potter." He cuffed the other upside the head lightly, albeit the awkwardness of the angle. "Before Hogwarts. What was it like..." He tried to phrase the sentence delicately a few times before giving up with a wayward sigh. "Without parents?"

Harry winced. "I, ah... I stayed with my aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. She was my mum's sister and they didn't exactly get along. They had a son my age, Dudley." Harry smiled slightly, thinking of the curly pig tail the mammoth boy had received the night Harry had first learned of his heritage. "It... could've been worse."

Draco shrugged. "How bad could it have been for the Wizarding World's Golden Boy?" He waved a hand, leaning back against the firm chest behind him. "I mean, it couldn't have been horrible."He turned to face Harry, hand still wrapped tightly around Scorpius's, and not looking like it was leaving anytime soon. "It's not like you were abused or anything." His silver eyes were wide with the firm belief that he was right, and that the Gryffindor Golden Boy lived a splendid life before he came to Hogwarts, before he met Draco at Madam Malkin's.

"I... Well..." Harry averted his gaze. "I s-suppose. Technically. Uncle Vernon never actually... hit me. Necessarily."

Draco froze, eyes trying to lock with those of darting emerald. "Harry." His voice was firm, hand slipping from his son's just slightly. "Tell me the truth. Were you abused?"

Harry sighed, finally meeting Draco's gaze. He had said Draco could ask anything, after all. "I wouldn't call it abuse... The right word would probably be neglected." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "Definitely unwanted."

There was a spike in the air, magic slowly building a tingling buzz under Draco's pale, creamy skin. "What did they do to you?" His teeth began to clench in thought that someone had hurt someone precious to him.

"They didn't... they didn't exactly do anything, I suppose. Dudley did, but he was always a bit of an arse." He touched his glasses, remembering how Hermione had repaired them on that long ago train ride. "Always cracking me in the face and such, him and his friends, until I got too fast for them. But then..." Harry shook his head, leaning back and dropping his gaze again. "You don't want to hear this, Draco."

A hand, warm and sweaty with having been in another's constant grasp for hours grabbed at Harry's chin, roughly jerking his head up. Silver eyes bore into emerald almost violently, burning with a silently reserved fire, warming the silver to molten mercury, flecks of blue and brown flittering around Draco's eyes. "You will tell me right now, Harry Potter." His grip tightened on the stubble-laden chin. "What did they- do- to- you?"

"I... They locked me in a cupboard under the stairs every night. For eleven years that was my bedroom. I had a..." He swallowed. "I had a couple of little toy soldiers I played with, nicked them from Dudley's second bedroom as a birthday present to myself when I was seven. I wasn't allowed upstairs unless they wanted something cleaned. One year on Dudley's birthday, he and some of his friends ate way too much cake and ice cream and then they all... Well, I ended up spending half the night cleaning the ruddy water closet.

"And then there were the night where I'd done something... unusual. I was running from Dudley and his cronies once at school, made to jump behind these trash cans to hide and found myself on the roof. Got a months' detention and no dinner for a good week. I cooked most of the meals, especially on holidays."

There was a faraway look in Harry's eyes, as if he were looking right through Draco. "And then when I finally did find out I was a wizard - because I'd always been told that my parents died in a car crash and I should be lucky they even let me stay with them and wear Dudley's hand-me-downs - they gave me Dudley's second bedroom. And I got meals pushed in under this cat flap they made in the door... And there were bars on the windows..."

Draco smashed their lips together harshly, hands coming up to grasp at Harry's cheeks as he molded their lips together - kissing at his lips, cheeks, eyelids, nose, brow - anywhere he could reach, his lips pressed passionate, heartbroken kisses against supple sun-kissed skin. "You won't have that again. I swear on my father's grave I won't let anything like that happen again. Those stupid 'Dursleys' can rot in Hell for all I care."

"They thought I was a freak," he mumbled. "Aunt Petunia was always calling mum and dad freaks. I was a freak. Anything not normal was... I used to dream about things, fantastic things. Flying motorbikes and such, but if I ever mentioned them..." Harry shook his head. "I don't even know where they are now. They were taken away a bit before my seventeenth birthday for their own protection and then... I just never saw them again."

"You are not a freak Harry." Draco's thumbs caressed his cheeks softly, their breath mingling as their lips brushed when they spoke. "You are amazing, smart, fit, generous, beautifully handsome, and..." He gave a small shake of his head, a warm, (almost) loving smile pushing at the corners of his lips." ...the most brave, incompetent, unselfishly stupid person I know." Draco's eyes were warm, unguarded, and swimming with emotions. "And I love you for you, Harry James Potter." His eyes, already almost closed with the whispers of his words, drifted shut, his head titling just slightly to press their lips together. "And you could never be a freak to me."

"Are you sure about that? The whole surviving the killing curse twice thing doesn't push that button?" Harry was only half-kidding, a hand sliding into Draco's hair as he waited for the answer. "Quite a few people would be a little concerned."

"Dark Mark. Dark Lord." He pressed his lips gently, molding his own against Harry's, eyes hazed over slightly, gazing up at emerald green through long lashes. "Remember?"

"That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you." Harry took his hand gently down Draco's back. "I love you, Draco."

His arms traveled slowly up Harry's body, wrapping snugly around the Gryffindor's neck as he turned his body to be able to relax against a Quidditch toned chest and stomach. "Mm, I think there might be a few screws lose." A kiss was pressed to the corner of Harry's mouth. "But you still love me anyways? That might be a bad move there, Potter. I could be crazy." He nuzzled Harry's neck, letting out a tense sigh.

"You never know. I could be obsessively needy and have all sorts of other troublesome things wrong with me, but you still seem to love me." Harry rested his chin atop Draco's head, tone becoming serious. "Listen to me, Draco. I've talked to mind-Healers about all this; I had to after a case about this neglected boy... He was a Squib and his pure-blood parents couldn't stand it. They kept it hidden for almost eleven years, but when it came time for the Hogwarts letter that never came...

"We found an ear," he whispered. "This pool of blood, splashed against this wall, and there was this ear on the floor. Because these parents were just that ashamed to have, to them, an abnormal child. And I couldn't tolerate it. They sent me to the Healers, wouldn't let me back on the job until I was fully cleared. So it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I'm not a ten year old, living in a cupboard. Or a seventeen year old running for my life. Just like you're not a terrified seventeen year old with a madman in your house, or a sixteen year old with an impossible job."

"No." The word shocked them both, Draco moving away with a flourish, standing and pacing around the room instantly, hands locked behind his back as his shoes clacked rhythmically on the floor. "You listen to me, Harry James Potter." He stopped in front of the chair after a few moments, hands resting on the back as he leaned forward with a jerk, eyes narrowed, lips pursed. "It doesn't matter to me if you are short - which you are - bald, tall, obtusely overweight, powerfully magical, no magic at all, poor, or stupid! Heaven forbid that I am lucky enough that you are none of those." His eyes bore into those of emerald green with a roll, looking almost smooth as jade in the flickering hospital lights. "I love you for you. And I will say it how ever many times I need to."

He jerked the back of the chair slightly, allowing it to creak against the floor as it moved backwards. "I don't care if you were abused, or treated as a fucking prince, because that doesn't matter. What matters now is now. And that was something that I had to learn the fucking hard way. All that matters now is that I'm trying to stay warm in this damn hospital with it's stupid abusive nurses and horrible food. I just want to be back in your arms because you make a more comfortable support than those damn chairs you're sitting in, and my son, Harry. I'm here for Scorpius and so are you. We are here because there is a little five-year old not even ten feet away that needs our help because he is dying, and placing two of the most magically powerful Wizards of our age, coupled with the brightest Witch as well means that we have to find something. And that right there proves to me that you aren't crazy. You care about me, and you care about my son, not even bothering to judge us when you met us in a frickin' Muggle park. That right there is proof that you are Harry James Potter, stupid Ex-Gryffindor, Quidditch player and Auror extraordinaire. That is proof as to why I can say I love you and not want to dig my stone cold heart out with a Kris, Potter!" Draco's chest was heaving by the time he had finished, his mercury colored eyes wild with vivid emotions. Love, disgust for the Dursley's, sarcasm and the usual Malfoy snark swimming around, coupled with the care and devotion of being a father to a sick and dying five year old, and someone who experienced more beyond their age before they even had the trace off of them. He took a breath to calm himself.

Harry took advantage of that pause, dragging Draco against him, fingers digging into his forearms as he devoured the blonde's lips. It was a desperate kiss, needy and bruising. And possessive.

Draco melted into the kiss, pressing back fervently, legs coming to awkwardly straddle Harry's own as he kissed back, molding their lips together and giving a small moan, heart pounding painfully in his chest.

The brunette's hands slid down, hooked behind Draco's knees and had him crashing down onto his lap. Harry skimmed a hand back up, keeping him steady, and continued the kiss, tongue diving into Draco's mouth.

Draco gave a small 'oof' as he landed against a firm, toned body, his own body instantly reacting to the warm, heated lips pressed against his own and the thundering heartbeat against his chest. His tongue came out to press against Harry's, lips molding together as his hands dived into unruly locks, breathing shallow and short as his own heart pounded in his chest.

Harry only broke the kiss when he remembered how important breathing was, but didn't go far, breath panting against Draco's lips. "I love you," he whispered. "Now is what matters. Now I love you and that boy. And I'm going to do all that I can to protect you both."

Draco's eyes were hooded, chest heaving as his hands drifted through Harry's hair and over his face, coming to trace small patterns against his neck. "You better, Pot- Harry." He licked his kiss swollen lips, resting his forehead against the others. "I don't think I can handle a heartbroken five-year old." Draco chuckled lowly.

"I don't think I can handle a heartbroken me." Harry sighed quietly, pressed a light kiss to his nose.

Draco drifted kisses over Harry's nose and lips. "I love you, scarhead. Even you know that."

"Yes, I know it." His lips twitched with amusement. "Slytherin prat."

Draco pressed their lips together soundly. "Mm, you love it. You've always loved snakes, don't deny it." His head ducked down to rest against Harry's shoulder, his lithe body curling up against the shorter male's, a yawn tugging at his lips.

Harry looked down, gently taking his fingers through his lover's hair and hissed something in Parseltongue.

Draco let out an involuntary moan, pressing himself flush against Harry.

As tempted as he was to hiss something else at a reaction like that, Harry just chuckled softly. "Like that, do you?"

"You are torturous, Harry." Draco murmured, face flushed at his own reaction as he spoke quietly against Harry's neck, eyes drifting closed for a moment as he listened to the sure beating of the heart monitor working in time with Scorpius's own heartbeat, that noise dragging him back to reality. "I admit to nothing."

Harry hissed and 'I love you,' interested in whatever reaction that would bring, and slid his hand down to toy with the top of Draco's slacks.

A shudder ripped through Draco's body, burning down to the tips of Draco's fingers as the hiss practically slithered through his body. About to make up a retort, Draco froze at the feeling of fingers against his belt. "Not here Harry," he sighed, chest caving in. "Not when we have Scorpius to focus on." Draco leaned forward, pressing their lips together chastely, enjoying the warmth Harry always seemed to radiate. "He could wake up at anytime."

"I know." He lowered his brow to Draco's and hissed it again. "Try and remember what that one sounds like," he requested.

Draco gave a roll of his mercury hued eyes, resting his head back against Harry's neck, lithe, muscled arms wrapped securely around his neck. "Demanding much, are we?"

"It means 'I love you,'" he explained. "So when I'm inside you next, hissing it in your ear and driving you mad, I want you to understand."

The blonde raised a platinum-blonde brow, groaning silently. "And who says I will let you 'back inside,' Harry?"

"The fact that you're hard as hell against me right now, actually." Harry grinned a little wickedly. "And that I know all I have to do to get you going is a little nip or two."

"You're a horrible lover, do you know this?" The blonde gave a sigh, turning around, making sure to rub his body against Harry's as much as possible during the maneuver, and rest back against Harry's chest, arms around his own stomach as he extended his legs out. His eyes slipped closed with a relieving inhale-exhale.

"Tease," Harry murmured, nuzzling him gently. "Now go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you if there's a change."

Draco shook his head with a petulant huff. "I'm not twelve Harry, I don't need a nap when my son is lying in something akin to comatose state in a hospital."

"You're exhausted," Harry pointed out, gently stroking his chest. "And you can trust me. I'll wake you, love."

Draco leaned back, nuzzling against Harry's shoulder, eyes drifting closed of their own accord. "It's more of a paternal thing than a 'I'm just a prat who refuses to sleep because-"

"Draco," Harry interrupted, amused. "I know. Just sleep a little while. You don't want to be tired when this rambunctious five year old wakes up."

The 'if' went unsaid in Draco's mind as he gave a huff, eyes closing fully as his body sagged against the Quidditch toned chest behind him, weariness and exhaustion slowly forming on his pointed face. today had taken its toll. "Fine... you stupid Gryffindor."

"Goodnight, Slytherin git." Harry rested his cheek atop Draco's hair, watching Scorpius out of the corner of his eye. "Love you."

Draco was out with a mere murmur of the same words, hair falling against his cheeks as he curled upon albeit the awkwardness of the position, being taller than the man whose lap he rested in, head tucked firmly between the brunette's head and shoulder. Draco rested deeply for the first time since Scorpius was placed in the bowels of that stupid, infected hospital, the warmth from Harry's skin drifting past his thin layer of clothes and his reassuring presence allowing the blonde to sleep peacefully. Draco could never have been more thankful for those next few hours of rest.


	12. Red Prince

Chapter 12

_Red Prince_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry was waking Draco much sooner than he would have liked. Only a couple of hours had passed, but Scorpius's vitals were up and he'd had absolutely no trouble with the medi-witches who periodically came in to take care of him. Beyond that first one, anyway, who'd started to say something scathing and then had nearly swallowed her tongue when she'd seen that Harry Potter was in the room, holding a former Death Eater in his lap.

She hadn't returned and Harry had told Hermione to keep her out however possible. The rest of the medi-witches had done their business, answered his questions, and been just awed enough that he knew his relationship with Draco was going to hit the Prophet's front page by morning, probably accompanying some of the pictures they'd taken of them at the park.

But at least now it seemed like Scorpius was really going to be okay. His color was up, heart beating stronger. He was asleep, the last medi-witch had said, rather than borderline comatose. That was good; that was really good. Still, Harry hated having to wake Draco when Scorpius was still out, particularly since he wouldn't be staying.

Kingsley's patronus had been snarling, which left him no choice at all, really. He never had finished that letter back to the Head Auror thanks to Draco's delightful bite fetish...

Sighing, Harry carefully jostled the sleeping man in his lap. "Draco? Draco, love, wake up."

The blonde gave an incoherent mumble, swatting at Harry's hand that rested on his shoulder. Draco rolled over, curling against the arm of the chair that Harry had magically enlarged after his legs had started to go numb with Draco's weight.

"No, Draco, c'mon. I have to..." Harry sighed, sliding a hand through Draco's hair. He shook his shoulder a little more forcefully. "Wake up?"

A silver pupil was slowly revealed, hazed with sleep as the blonde gave a yawn, hands coming up from around Harry's waist to rub at his eyes. "Is 'verything o'ay?" He yawned widely, the drawls of sleep still evident in the rasp of his voice.

"Bloody hell, you're adorable." Harry easily lifted him into a sitting position, nuzzled into his neck gently. "Everything's fine."

He gave a small nod, sitting up to try and ward off the oncoming wave of sleep. Another yawn escaped his lips, his chest rising as he rubbed at exhausted silver eyes. "You okay?" He chose to pretend he didn't hear the 'adorable' comment, feigning it on warding off sleep.

"I'm alright. I'm sorry about having to wake you, though." He gently stroked Draco's hair. "I have to go for a little while. Kingsley's called me in and I can't get out of it."

Draco nodded understandingly. "That's fine. I'll remain here though, of course." Almost on instinct, coming naturally, he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly to the Gryffindor's. "Stay safe."

"I've managed it this long, haven't I?" Harry kissed him again, lifting a hand to his cheek. "I love you. I'll wrap this up as soon as I can, and the latest on Scorpius is that he's fine. He's just sleeping now. He'll wake up any minute. And those damned medi-witches know that if anything goes wrong, they have me to answer to."

Draco smiled warmly, arms wrapping around Harry's waist, fitting perfectly in the crook of his neck as he pressed their lips together. "Guess I'm glad to be on your good side," warm molten silver met affectionate jade and Draco mumbled against Harry's lips. "-aren't I, Potter?"

"You absolutely are."

A silvery lynx burst into the room and growled. "Potter," it snapped, "now is not the time to dawdle. Get here now." And it was gone.

Harry sighed against Draco's mouth. "Duty calls, I suppose. I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised, but decided to dawdle for one last kiss.

Draco gave a small nod of his head, standing up with a flourish and pulling Harry up by their laced hands, leaning down to press their lips together, just a small press of lips. "Love you.*"

"Love you too." Harry smiled, drawing back. "Now that thing," he gestured to the chair, "has been blasted with absolutely every cushioning charm I could think of, so it isn't half as-"

"Go Potter," Draco chuckled, giving him a shove in the middle of his sentence, towards the door. You can regale me with the story of how you bested the painful chair of doom and destruction later." He chuckled warmly, the sound carrying around the too-quiet room. "I don't need Kingsley harping on my arse, thank you very much." He waved a hand towards the door, falling back into the overly large chair gracefully, crossing a leg over the other and leaning back.

"Especially since that arse is mine."

"Not until you put a ring on it, Potter," he smirked, raising a hand and wiggling his fingers in a random pattern, eyes hooded as the air in the room seemed to spark, the candles in the room waning.

Harry threw his robes on, adjusting the sleeves. "I'll just have to get right on that, then." He gave a half-salute before leaving, fingers brushing over Scorpius's hair as they had a million times in the past few hours.

Draco's chuckles followed him out as the blonde went back to avidly watching over his son, calming the pounding in his heart. Did he just propose... a proposal? He wanted to hit his head against a wall. Stupid bloody Gryffindors.

-

It was nearly two days before Harry found himself back in England, staggering slightly from Portkey lag and the wound Ron had half-healed. It had been his own fault, though; he should've looked out better for ensnaring wards.

Kingsley gave them a break - thank Merlin - from paperwork and Harry had adamantly insisted that his vacation wasn't to be interrupted again and he expected these two days to be compensated for. Kingsley's brows had risen high enough to disappear into his hairline (if he'd had one), but he'd acquiesced.

With a tired sigh, Harry threw some powder into a Ministry floo. "Number Twelve," he snapped and the floo was attuned enough to Harry that it took him where he wanted without issue. "Kreacher!" he called, stumbling at the other end.

He was there instantly. "Master Harry, Kreacher-"

"Listen, I'm in desperate need of a bath. I need you to go and-"

There was a small little giggle that echoed through the corridor, just a mere noise but it shushed it's occupants instantly, Kreacher giving an unnoticeable wince, wringing his hands together.

Harry stared down. "Kreacher?"

"Masters Draco and Scorpius are here, Master Harry. Master Teddy is probably with them."

The auror immediately stumbled towards the source of the sound, ended up slumped against the doorway of one of the only bedrooms downstairs. Teddy was the first to notice him. "Uncle Harry!" he squealed, white blonde hair going neon yellow in his excitement. He dropped his little snitch and it began to race around the room once more, unnoticed as the boy flung himself as his godfather. Harry was more than a little embarrassed by how it nearly took him off his feet.

"Look Scorpius, look who it is," a small voice whispered in the background, almost unheard above Teddy's squeals.

"Papa!" The voice was a mere rustle of air, too quiet for the person the brunette knew it belong to, nearly impossible to be heard a moment later with another rambunctious babble from Teddy.

"Hang on, Teddy." Harry lifted him with an effort. "I missed you too. Just give me a minute. Go catch your snitch."

"Oh!" Teddy was set down again, scrambling after the golden thing and Harry carefully made his way across the room to the two blondes, hiding his limp as much as he could.

"Scorpius," he whispered, relieved beyond belief, and took the boy's hand. "It's so good to see you, kiddo."

The five year old looked worse for wears as he sat, snuggled up in his fathers lap. His face was sallow and pale, his eyes heavy with sleep that was made worse by the terrible bags of purple under his eyes, made worse by the pallor of his skin. "Papa," Scorpius's arms were held out, his eye lids drooping, wanting to be held by Harry, even if only just for a few minutes.

Draco didn't look too much better, looking as if he hadn't slept for weeks. After Harry had left, Hermione had come bustling in (for a pregnant women, she could move) and had proceeded to check Scorpius's vitals and such, all the usual tests. Just... not the usual results.

'He'll need to be isolated soon, he has no immune system.' Those words still haunted Draco when he signed the release papers with a flourish and instantly floo'ed Scorpius and himself to Number Twelve. That was two days ago.

Harry trembled a bit, sheer exhaustion pulling at him. But he picked the boy up and held him carefully, burying his face in the boy's hair. "Hey there. I'm sorry I was gone so long." He flicked his gaze to Draco, worry deep in his eyes.

"I missed you, Papa..." Scorpius's eyes drifted close, his body violently light and bony, his arms so small as they wrapped around Harry's neck for the first time in days. Harry could barely hear his voice, even so close to his ear.

Draco dropped his gaze away from the two, running a hand through tangled hair once more.

"I missed you too." Harry's heart thundered hard in his chest. He'd missed something. Scorpius hadn't been this bad when he'd left. "How you doing?" he murmured.

The blonde boy, his hair having lost some of its bright luster, gave a little mumbled response that he was doing better, the grip on the back of Harry's shirt was loosening as he began to drift off to a troubled sleep.

Teddy tugged on his pant leg, the little snitch in his hand giving a small flutter. "Scorpius keeps sleeping," he said quietly and Harry's worry spiked several levels.

"Kreacher." The elf appeared and Harry laid the child in the bed carefully. "Stay in here with Teddy and Scorpius. Come get me and Draco if anything happens."

The house-elf bowed its head. "Yes, Master Harry."

Harry held his hand out to the blonde. "Draco?"

Draco blinked his tired eyes up in confusion, reaching for the hand without a mere thought and lifting himself from the couch. Plain black button-down shirt and dull black slacks, wrinkled and slightly dust covered were draped over Malfoy's body, the father looking exhausted enough to be near the point of emaciated as he tightened his grip around the Auror's. "What is it, Harry?" His gaze drooped for a moment.

"Come on." Harry ignored the pain in his leg, tugging Draco out of the room. Fear mixed in him, worse than it had been just a few hours before when he'd been at wandpoint, pinned to a wall by a man who would've been thrilled to be able to kill Harry Potter.

"H-Harry-! What the-?" Draco stumbled behind him, hand clenched tightly within the brunette's grasp as the door to the only downstairs bedroom swung shut behind him with an ominous thud.

"They'll be okay. Just come with me." He only managed a couple of the stairs, hissing and gripping Draco's hand tightly. "Fuck," he muttered.

The blonde growled, pushing Harry down onto a step and rolling his eyes with a sneer. "You fucking idiot..." He turned, "Kreacher!"

With a pop, the small elf appeared, ears flopping down into his eyes as he straightened the shirt that Master Harry had graced him with. "Yes Master Draco?"

"Please call Hermione Granger over at once, and open the Floo from the living room specifically for her. Tell her it is an emergency and to be careful."

"Yes, Master Draco." The elf disappeared with a bow of his head and a 'pop.'

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "It's not that big of an emergency." He tugged Draco down with him, tangling his fingers in his hair. "Just a mishap with an unnoticed ward. Ron healed the worst of it."

"You're still an idiot." Draco sighed quietly, sagging against the well-worn wooden step, not even caring that the edge of the stair dug into his spine. "And I don't trust Weasley with a healing spell either - Ronald, if you must have clarification."

"I don't particularly trust him either at times." Hermione strode forward, wand already out. "You're lucky I was already headed this way, Harry. Ron told me you'd hurt yourself." A quick spell had his pant leg coming apart, revealing deep purple bruises and a long, angry-looking laceration that nearly went up to his thigh. "Idiot," she and Draco both snapped before she rounded on the blonde man himself. "And you. You haven't been sleeping at all, have you?"

"I haven't been able to," he glanced away with an indignant huff. "Scorpius doesn't sleep very long. A few minutes at a time." Draco glanced back down at his watch, the little silver circle wrapped securely in the middle of his left wrist with a patterned black band. "He will be waking in about four minutes and demand physical comfort since it seems to be the only way to keep his body temperature up." Draco ignored the glare Hermione sent his way. The 'Isolation, Draco,' went unsaid.

Harry looked between them, wincing as Hermione started to heal his wound. "What happened?" he whispered.

Hermione sighed. "He was doing fine, really. Reacting well to the drugs we were giving him... And then he just... His immune system is virtually nonexistent. He should be isolated."

Harry paled. He'd just hugged him, covered in germs and grime and Merlin knew what else. His wide eyes snapped to the man beside him. "...Draco?"

The blonde looked down, glancing at the steps below him and admiring the finely adhered cracks and the wood, that if polished would shine like new... "I couldn't do it." His arms wound around his own stomach and tightened almost painfully, silver eyes clenching shut as his head ducked down to allow his fringe to cover his exhausted and guilt-filled expression. "I was selfish and I just... I couldn't put my baby boy in isolation. H-He's only five."

"Draco," Harry whispered again, holding onto him.

"You're doing more harm than good," Hermione reminded him. "You're taking away time I could have to cure him."

"Hermione," the auror said quietly, "don't. Let me take care of this. Just... just go make sure I haven't done anything by hugging him."

"You hugged him like this?" She huffed, irritated, and leapt up as fast as she could before storming into the bedroom, leaving the lovers on the stairs.

Harry lifted a hand, touched Draco's cheek. "Look at me," he murmured.

Draco forced his head past the hand, refusing the words with a silent gesture.

"Draco, I love him too. Please look at me."

Silver eyes lifted, exhaustion heavy in his gaze, lines of red darting over stark-white pupils, the skin around his eyes irritated and red. Draco had been crying.

"Oh, Godric, Draco..." Harry rested his brow against the other's, trembling. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I haven't been here."

"It's not your fault," was the whispered reply, Draco's lower lip being gnawed at by his teeth, refusing to let it tremble with an onslaught of fast approaching tears. "You h-have a life, and i-it was time you returned to it." The Malfoy refused to acknowledge the violent rip those words left in his heart.

Harry framed Draco's face in his hands carefully, eyes going dark. "You are my life. Scorpius is my life. I love you, both of you. I've got the rest of my vacation still and these two days that I've lost with Kingsley, has promise to not call me back for any reason. We're going to use that time to fix your son. Understand?"

"In two days Harry?" The muttered words lost the edge of hope he seemed to embody not even a week ago. "He's going into isolation then. I..." Draco swallowed, muttering past the tears and the harsh lumps in his throat. His hands clung together, wringing violently, reddening the skin. "I just wanted a few days with him. Hermione doesn't know."

"Hermione does know. She has a boy Scorpius's age. You don't know her as well as I do, Draco; this is keeping her up at night. I know it is. And... and Merlin, I can't even stand the thought of leaving him on his own. But we can. We can handle a few days of isolation, so we can keep him for a lifetime." Harry captured his hands, holding them gently. "He's mine now, too. And I won't let him go."

"I meant about the isolation..." The blonde swallowed, eyes clenching shut as his hands shook, gripping back in Harry's as some sort of purchase to not completely falling off his body. "St. Mungo's rejected my application for Isolation... S-Scorpius has to go to s-some... shoddy hospital off the edge of Wales." Draco paused to drag in a few painful lung-fulls of breath. "They even made sure to grind it into my brain that even being... lovers," he tested the words on his lips."-with the Golden Boy w-wouldn't get my son in." He refused to mention the nasty hexes sent his way by more than a few nurses, doctors and even some patients as he walked past with Scorpius in his arm, blocked by a plethora of shields to protect his weak and fragile body. A nasty one had landed right on his back that had made it near impossible to sit, let alone move for a day.

Harry shook his head. "No. He'll be staying here. We've got Kreacher and Hermione and each other. He doesn't have to go anywhere. We can sterilize the room easily, keep it constantly heated. We are not sending him to bloody fucking Wales."

"Harry... It's..." He fumbled for a coherent sentence in his ever lagging brain. "It's my last option. He just..."

"Scorpius is awake." Draco jerked up at Hermione's voice, the witch standing at the end of the hallway, arms crossed over her ever-pregnant stomach. "And he is demanding your presence, Draco. I don't think he recalls Harry ever coming home."

Harry sighed, carefully getting to his feet. "Hermione, is it possible to isolate him here...? He's safe here..."

She glanced back at the door. "Yes," she said after a moment. "It's possible. If Draco cooperates," she added with a stern look.

"Just give us something to do. Books to read, anything." Harry pressed a soft kiss to Draco's lips. "I'm going to shower because I'm covered in disgusting and I need one. Go be with your son. I'll come back down in ten minutes."

The blonde jerked Harry back, pressing their lips together firmly before pulling away and walking down the hallway to the small bedroom at the end, a small renewed vigor to his walk that was as close to getting an agreement to isolating the sickly five-year old in Grimmauld Place as either of the brunette's would get. "He's your son too, now more then ever."

Harry's eyes flared with determination. "Damn right," he muttered and turned away to head up the stairs.

Neither man noticed the thoughtful look that crossed over Hermione's features or the way she nodded to herself before seeing herself out. This new idea needed researching.

-

"Hey Scor," Draco smiled softly, reaching down and coursing his fingers through his son's unkempt blonde hair. The small, lithe boy looked up from his tomb of blankets, eyes drifting open and closed as a small yawn passed his lips, followed by a few tufts of a cough.

"-'addy..."

Teddy was sitting on the bed with him, germ-free courtesy of a fresh blast of charms from Hermione. He didn't like seeing his new friend like this, had begged Aunt Hermione to let him stay. He nibbled on his thumb in a nervous habit his grandmother had been trying to break him of for a decade. "Cousin Draco, he'll be okay, right? He will."

The elder Malfoy sighed quietly, tip-toeing towards the edge of the bed and placing himself on down near Scorpius's body. "He'll be okay, Teddy. Won't you Scorpius?" There was a minuscule movement beneath his hand, the boy's head nodding minutely with a faint rustle of sheets.

"I want him to be okay." Teddy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest to try and affect the pose Harry made when he was being super serious. "You have to be okay, Scorpius. We can't have adventures if you aren't."

The boy's answering giggles had Teddy perking up instantly, Draco's smile pushing at his lips. "How would you like for Harry to spend some time with us?" He soothed his fingers through fine, soft locks, kissing his son's head. He had made sure to charm himself clean before walking into the room.

"Uncle Harry!" Teddy cheered.

"Hm? I think I heard my name." Harry leaned against the doorjamb, the need for sleep still reflected in his eyes. But he was smiling, his hair damp from his shower. When Teddy beckoned, he walked forward and paused near Draco, reaching out and brushing his hand over Scorpius's soft hair. "Hey there, kiddo."

Scorpius's head instantly peaked out from under the blankets, his silver-blue ices wide with a hazy excitement. "Papa!" His hands shot out, hands clenching and unclenching, immediately wanting to be held in Harry's warm and protective arms.

Harry sank down beside Draco on the bed, bundling Scorpius close. "Beautiful boy," he murmured.

Scorpius murmured peacefully, promptly curling up in Harry's arms, head tucked in against his chest, with a muttered 'You smell like cinnamon!' that was botched with sleep and a raspy voice.

Harry laughed quietly. It was much better than he'd smelled before. "Yeah, I probably do." He flicked his gaze up to Draco. "Hermione's decided to move in for a bit while we figure this out, which means Ron and Hugo are coming along. With the right charms in place, Teddy and Hugo can still play with Scorp when he's awake and Ron can help us research."

Draco's expression fell for a moment at the mention of the Weasley, remembering certain things over the course of their years after Hogwarts that left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Lovely." His arms snaked their way around Harry's waist, tightening possessively as he pressed a kiss to Scorpius's head, peaking out from Harry's shoulder.

Harry's grin was slight and apologetic. "I know he was a... Well, Ron was never that great at reigning in his temper. I know he was an," he covered Scorpius's ears, "arse after the war, but he has gotten better. He'd lost his brother and, well, it'd been a very, very long few months."

Draco nodded his head mutely with a contemptuous sigh. "I understand. Did you brief him at all on... our situation? Or is he coming into this blind like an old coot?"

"Our...? Oh. Ah... Hermione probably did."

"Good." He nipped lightly at Harry's neck before standing with a flourish. "I'm going to get you some soup, Scorp. Then bed," he glanced down at his watch. "It's getting late."

Harry nodded, holding a little tighter. "It's getting late for you too, Teddy."

"But Uncle Harry..." He trailed off when Harry lifted his brows, sighing heavily. "Fiiiine."

Draco chuckled, leaning against the jamb by the door. "How about a little bit of soup for you too, before bed Teddy?"

He threw his hands up, grinning. "Yes!"

Harry smiled, gently rocking Scorpius. "Yes what?" he murmured, amused at himself.

Teddy huffed. Sometimes Uncle Harry was as bad as Grandma. "Yes, please."

The elder Malfoy gave a warm, albeit tired laugh, holding out a nimble-fingered hand to the rambunctious ten year-old. "Why don't you come and help me, and give Uncle Harry and your baby cousin some time together?"

"Okay!" Teddy grinned and reached out, patting Scorpius's hair. "Uncle Harry, I like having family."

Harry glanced over, aiming a loving smile at Draco. "So do I."

The door closed behind the two quietly, Teddy's chatter slowly fading as they made their way towards the kitchen, Draco's hand clasped firmly around the Metamorphmagus's, chuckling (albeit shocked the child wanted to hold his hand) as Teddy's hair went through every shade of the rainbow and then some as they made their way to Kreacher who stood, waiting in the kitchen.

Harry continued to hold Scorpius after they'd gone, gazing down at the child with a wash of love and worry that was almost painful. He shouldn't be able to feel this much for a little boy he'd only known a little while, but... He did. He simply did and saw no fitting reason to fight it when he felt so fragile in his grasp. "I'm sorry I was gone so long," he murmured.

"S'okay, papa." Scorpius yawned, little hands coming up to tousle already tousled blonde hair. Bags sat under his eyes, seemingly more sickeningly purple then when he was in the hospital, his skin sallow and translucent. Little, near emaciated arms came around Harry's neck, the child's head coming to rest against a broad shoulder, his breathing short and weak. "You're back 'ow... 'hat's all that matte's..."

"Yeah, I'm back. And I'm not going anywhere again, okay? I'm with you." Harry rested his cheek on his soft hair, trying not to shake. So small. Too small. "I love you, Scorpius."

The blonde boy let out a few shivers, body cold against the warmth that Harry dispelled. "I love you, 'oo Papa..." He yawned widely, the movement shaking his chest, his lungs still weak from his hospital stay, from his reaction. "Papa?"

"What is it, kiddo?"

"Can I have Perry?" Scorpius's voice sounded almost breathless coupled with a yawn as he burrowed down against Harry's chest, tiny fingers gripping his shirt lightly. "I forgo' him in t'e living room..."

"Sure." Without a thought, Harry summoned the little unicorn and then carefully cleansed it with the charms Hermione had demanded be performed on everything that went near Scorpius from this point on. He'd forgotten the point where he wasn't to do magic so close to him, though, and tucked the little thing into his grasp.

Scorpius let out a few violent wheezes as he clutched Perry closer, arms wrapped tightly around the bright white unicorn. His eyes were clenched as he took in much needed breaths, Harry's magic having swept over him in an intense wave, making his skin feel as if something was stuck to it, his lungs feeling as if they were coated with slime at the sudden hike in the magic levels that danced around the room. A few inhales later and Scorpius was sagging against Harry, Perry clutched forcefully to his heaving chest, his body melting in relief to being able to breathe again, his blonde hair falling against his pasty face.

Harry winced, mentally swearing at himself for being so bloody stupid. "Sorry, sorry." He brushed Scorpius's hair back, studying him carefully for signs of any ill-effects.

"S'okay, papa..." his shaking soon subsiding as he resting in Harry's lap with a yawn. "I love you, Papa." He glanced up at the brunette, silver eyes wide and filled with childish affection. "Thank 'ou for helping me and 'addy." He clutched Perry all the more tighter, his blue-maned head bumping up against his chin.

"Oh, Scorp... There's no way I wouldn't help. I love you and your daddy."

"We both love you Scorpius, and I love Harry, so you have nothing to worry about." Draco stood in the doorway, a tray clasped firmly in his hands that held a small bowl of steaming soup and what looked to be a glass of some green-ish coloured liquid.

Teddy peaked out from behind the adult Malfoy's black-slacks clad leg. "And I love you too Scorp!"

Harry chuckled, looking up. "Teddy, is there anyone you don't love?"

The boy looked thoughtful a moment. "Um... bad guys?"

"Right, then. Come on, Scor. Let's get you fed."

The little family crowded together on the bed, Draco pressed against Harry's chest with Scorpius in his lap, a small amount of magic expelled to let the soup bowl float in front of the eagerly eating blonde boy as Teddy chattered against Harry's leg. "Slow down Scorp," Draco chuckled warmly, carting fingers through soft, limp locks, a warm sense of relief trickling through his veins at seeing Scorpius actually eating.

Harry pressed a fond kiss to Draco's temple, patting Teddy's hair. "What's in the cup?" he murmured.

Draco turned his head, letting his eyes drift from Scorpius to Harry, warm silver meeting calculating jade. "Something Hermione gave me to help 'clear Scorpius's lungs'. I'm tempted to not give it to him as I don't even know what is in it." He gestured to the small glass that sat innocently on the bedside table, a glare leaving Draco's eyes as if the object offended him somehow.

"You should trust her, Draco. She's helping; she's been helping. And she isn't asking anything in return."

"I know Harry. But it's very hard to trust when your son just became allergic to one of his favorite foods besides apples."

"Yeah... But she knows everything he's allergic to. He won't have a reaction to this." Harry made himself believe it. Any sort of reaction to the medicines could kill him. He was too weak as it was.

"I know, I know. Just..." he sighed, his full-weight sagging back against Harry who was thankfully laying against the pillows lined up against the headboard. "I need some time to adjust to this all. This is just a sudden decline and it's hard for me to figure it all out. I can't process that my son could be killed by something as mere as slicing his finger on something that hadn't been cleaned in a day."

Harry frowned, reaching up to cup his cheek. "We'll talk about it later, once the kids have been put to bed. Ron and Hugo won't be here til morning, so we'll have the night to ourselves." Though Harry fully intended to put Draco in bed and hold him there until he slept if need be.

"Which they will be going to bed soon," Draco spoke up so that the children in his lap could hear his voice. The resounding whines and pouts had Draco chuckling warmly, his world zoning into just encompass the two little boys that he reached over and pulled against his chest. "Oh? How about no desserts for a week then?" The bowl of soup floated away as Scorpius and Teddy giggled, Draco tickling them both lightly; Scorpius being tickled very gently, his laughter quiet compared to the roaring laughter coming from Teddy's lips. Draco's smile was warm, his cheeks flushing with happiness. This he could live with, the taunting of the Wizarding World, and the weight of his son's health on his shoulders could be put off for a few minutes if it meant bringing some semblance of happiness to his child's life.

"Uncle Harry!" Teddy squealed. "Stop him! Put a spell on him!"

Harry chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't. You'll have to agree to his demands."

Teddy considering mutinying, but couldn't think very well when he was being tickled. Finally, he squirmed away and threw his arms around Draco's neck. "Goodnight, cousin Draco."

Draco chuckled quietly, the sound vibrating in his chest. "Goodnight, Teddy. You can just call me Draco, if you want." he pat the ever-changing hair lightly, rubbing Scorpius's back with his other hand.

"Okay!" Delighted at that, Teddy snuggled in and gave Scorpius the tightest hug he dared. "You sleep too! And we'll play tomorrow. Okay? We'll play with Hugo too. He's fun."

Scorpius nodded excitedly, hugging back before the ten-year old jumped off the bed, and ran to the other side, arms looping Harry's waist with a quick hug before he rushed out of the room, no doubt to go jump in bed and fall asleep, excited thoughts of play swimming through his head. Draco just blinked.

"Now it's your turn, Scorpius." With a tired smile, Harry rose from the bed, lifting the child. He nodded to Draco for him to turn down the covers for the boy and nuzzled him gently. "I love you, kid. You drink your medicine and go to sleep, alright?"

Draco held the glass out to Scorpius as Harry tucked him into bed, supporting the child's back as he drank the small amount of medicine with a cringe and a crinkled nose. "E-Ew..."

He chuckled warmly, handing the glass down to Kreacher who popped in a few feet away and ambled over with outstretched hands. "Thank you Kreacher, and yes Scorpius, ew." He leaned down, pressing a kiss to his son's forehead. "Sleep well, okay? You have a busy day tomorrow." 'As do we,' went unsaid with a glance over his shoulder at the brooding brunette.

Harry nodded slightly, murmured something to Kreacher. The elf bowed, his big ears brushing the floor, before he was gone again. And the brunette bent over Scorpius to kiss the top of his head. "If you wake up, Kreacher will come to you and he'll get one of us, okay?"

With an answering nod, Scorpius nuzzled down into the sheets, sleep claiming the boy for its own almost immediately, Perry tucked tightly in his arms as he was engulfed by the copious amounts of pillows and blankets, shrinking his already small figure.

"Goodnight, Scorpius..."

Harry reached out and pulled Draco up. "Come on, love. You look like you have two days' worth of sleep to catch up on."

He sighed, following Harry out of the room. "I doubt I'll be sleeping at this rate."

"You will." Harry led him up the stairs, his leg healed and not preventing a thing anymore. "If I have to pin you to the mattress all night. But first, shower." He drew Draco into his room and began undoing the man's buttons. "Unless you'd rather a bath."

Draco gave a small exhale, allowing Harry to undo the buttons of his shirt and slid it off pale, slim shoulders. "A bath is fine." His own hands slid down to his pants, unbuttoning them mechanically as he gazed around the curiously unknown room.

"Sometimes I sleep in Sirius's room," Harry mused, guiding Draco into an attached water closet. "But this is my room, the one he said I could have when he was still alive. I have regrets," he continued quietly, turning on the water with a flick of his wand. "Things I should've done, things I should've said or asked when there was still time. I try to live my life now so that I won't accumulate any more."

Draco rested back against the simple sink, hands clasped against the linoleum as he gazed down at the floor. Clad in only a simple pair of pants, the blonde felt oddly exposed, though the two had seen each other naked more times then they should of in the past short week. "You've done pretty well, so far."

"I like to think I have. I like to think I'm teaching Teddy to live the same way, but it's hit me the past few days that I work too much. I don't see Teddy enough, take the time too. I'm so sure that I'll never have the family I always wanted that I let work replace it. I think I've stumbled onto that family." He turned and gazed at Draco, removing his shirt and letting it fall. He wasn't sure if Draco would let him bathe with him, but his fingers were trembling with cold worry as he unzipped his jeans and let them fall as well. "I love you, Draco. If there's one regret I've got now it's that I didn't try and find you sooner."

Draco moved forward, closing the gap between them with a few, quiet steps. "Hey," he lifted his hands and placed them firmly against Harry's cheeks, tilting his head up and glancing into his eyes, trying to read some form of emotion in the swimming jade colored eyes. "What's wrong? What's got the Golden Boy so shaken up? You know I love you, so we can't regret that it took us this long. But there's something else." His thumbs traced lightly back and forth against a strong jaw bone and low-set cheeks before dropping down and pulling Harry's hands away from his hips, the strong, nimble fingers shaking in his grasp. "What is it?"

"Seeing him like that... It's so wrong, Draco. I've lost... so many people. And I love that little boy so damn much." He gazed at Draco. "I stumbled across the two of you and it's been a whirlwind since. What if...? I hate the what-if game."

He gave a small huff, leaning down and pressing their lips together. "There is no 'what-if,' Harry. There is a 'what can we do next to help cure him?' and then we do. That is it. We will cure him, there is no what-if about that." There is only what-ifs of what you do after you cure him. The thought sent a violent pang through Draco's chest, just as the water in the tub magically shut off, some how having known it was close to over-flowing.

"I know, Draco. I... We have to heal him. And we will. But..." Harry sighed, closing his eyes a moment to gather his thoughts, and gave Draco's hands a careful squeeze when he re-opened them. "Will you still need me after? Will you still even want me around? I don't want to lose the pair of you, Draco Malfoy."

"You read my thoughts," he pressed their lips together again, heart skipping in his chest. "At this rate, I refuse to let you go, Harry James Potter. You're stuck with me."

"I'd better be." His grip tightened on Draco's hands. "I'm stuck with that kid, too. Package deal and all."

"Oh?" He raised a fine, pale blonde eyebrow. "You make it sound as if we are going to get married and be swept away to some foreign land there, Potter." Draco chuckled lowly, heart thundering in his ears.

"I dunno about the foreign land part, at least not past the honeymoon period. But the rest of it doesn't sound so bad," was Harry's quiet reply, trying and failing to put a teasing lilt in.

Draco froze. "W-What?"


	13. Hawley

Chapter 13

_Hawley_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry averted his gaze. "I wasn't planning on proposing to you when we were both sleep-deprived," he mumbled.

Draco blinked, words drying up in his throat as he felt his heart stop. "Y-You were planning on proposing?" He swallowed, hands becoming clammy in the Gryffindor's grasp. "Harry-"

"Don't," he said quietly. "Like I said, sleep-deprived. If you say no now, I'll twist it into the ravings of a tired mind and just ask you again. If you say yes, I'm holding you to it no matter what."

"I-I..." He tried to swallow past the annoying lump in his throat. Wasn't this too soon? He had Scorpius to focus on, and making sure the public or the Prophet didn't catch wind of what was happening... He had- His thoughts froze, flashing back to his Hogwarts days of glaring across the Great Hall, wishing for the very same brunette to just turn around, to gaze at him once... His mind remembered, flashed behind his lids, sixth year, when all he could think about was the Dark Lord's mission and the ever omniscient question that lurked in the back of his mind of 'what would happen to Harry if I did this?' The hands in his tightened, beginning to pull away. Fuck it. He had been lusting - longing - after this man since sixth year, and they had already fucked up the normal dating rituals. "D-Didn't even bother buying me a ring, Potter?" He cursed himself for fucking stuttering.

Harry lifted his gaze, eyeing Draco as carefully as he would a suspect. "You happened to mention one the other day. I happened to see one while chasing somebody. Maybe I did something a little insane like go back and buy it."

Draco swallowed audibly, chest constricting as he lifted his eyes. They had seen each other naked, bathed together, slept together, kissed, revealed secrets... But, in this moment that all seemed to just... disappear. "And what if I were to say y-yes? Do you know wh-what you're getting into?" Fuck his hands were sweaty, and his damned knees needed to stop shaking, all traces of anything remotely close to sleep gone from his system faster than a Seeker chasing after a damn Snitch.

Harry's heart thundered painfully against his ribs, so loud he was sure Draco could hear it too. "I... I'm getting a hell of a man and his adorable son. And all that pesky baggage their carrying, but I have some of my own. I think that's an even deal."

"A-And what about if this man said yes and his fiance's-" he paused at the word, trying to gather his thoughts, "family didn't agree to his choice in a partner?" He sure as hell hoped the Weasley mob knew their saviour played for the other team, and not just in Quidditch.

"Hermione's fine with it, and she'll bring Ron around if he's not. The rest know I'm less than straight and have come around since I broke up with Ginny."

There was a very long moment that echoed around the bathroom with the occasional drip of the bathtub faucet. The moments stretched to minutes as Draco fiddled with the fingers grasped in his, switching his weight from one foot to another. The blonde took a few deep breaths, eyes slipping closed as he seemed to accept some sort of inner thought.

"I better get a very fantastical wedding, Potter."

Harry blew out a breath, wandlessly summoing a small box from somewhere in the confines of his bedroom. The ring was simple, bands of silver and gold twining together and fusing into a smooth band, shining in the dull bathroom light. "You'll get one," he promised.

Draco stepped forward, pressing their almost naked bodies flush together and nicking the box from between Harry's fingers, gazing at it with fondness. "Very nice choice, Potter." There was a moments pause before the blonde turned, his free hand grasping around Harry's neck and pulling their lips together, hearts pounding violently. "A little unconventional, but we can look past that in light of the situation."

"If you wanted diamonds, you should've been more specific with your little ring comment." With the answer a yes, relief flooded him and he felt free to pat Draco's very firm arse. "This is mine now."

Draco gave a low moan, jerking Harry closer and pressing their lips together passionately. "Be glad I didn't get mad you weren't down on one knee." He pressed the box back against Harry's hand. "But I think you can take care of the 'putting it on the hand' part." Draco's hand slipped from behind Harry's neck to drift down his spine, tracing lightly across the crack of his arse.

"On one knee? You do know what you're getting here, don't you?" Harry plucked the ring from the box and slid it onto Draco's finger. "Want to find out how much water we can get out of the tub?"

Draco leaned downward, pressing their lips together and running his tongue along Harry's bottom lip. "I think I want my fiance to show me exactly what I'm getting myself into." He moved his hips forward, pressing his erection firmly against his lover's as he tried to keep his thoughts off exactly what he wanted to focus on; the glorious feeling of cool metal settling against his finger, perfect fit.

Harry lifted his hand, brushed his lips over the ring. In the same moment, their remaining clothes vanished. "Excellent idea." He stepped into the tub and it widened immediately to accommodate them as he dragged Draco down, pinning him as the heated water washed over their bodies. And then, grin wicked, he leaned forward, slid his tongue along the shell of Draco's ear, and hissed something provocative.

The blonde groaned immediately, water sliding over his body, the heat of it ebbing away at his sore and tense muscles. "Fuck, Harry."

Harry slid his hands down to Draco's waist, slipped around to grip his arse and began grinding their hips together. "I love you," he groaned.

Something twisted inside Draco's chest, the blonde's head falling back against the tub as he ground his hips forward against the brunette's. "Oh, Merlin-" His hands came up to clutch at Harry's arms, rocking back against the other fervently, his ring - hisring biting into his finger as Harry rolled his hips, sparks of pleasure bursting behind Draco's eyes and down to his toes.

"Wanna know something?" he panted. "This water... isn't just water." A finger slid effortlessly into Draco as his teeth sank into the blonde's neck.

Draco moaned, head falling to the side as he rocked back against Harry's finger, clenching down at the intrusion. "W-What the fuck is it, Potter?" A small sense of anger fought with the lust that controlled his brain; he should be angry, he should be raving that Potter stuck something in the bath that was suppose to help calm him. But, he couldn't really focus with a finger shoved up his arse and his bloody fucking fiance rocking against him like there was no tomorrow. Bloody fuck it felt amazing-

"A bit of this and that, the most important for now being a lubricant." A second finger slid in, scissored within him to begin the stretch. "And a cleaning agent." A third and his fingers began to thrust, fingers of the other hand trailing to stroke their rutting cocks. "Godric, you're gorgeous," he breathed and nipped along Draco's jawline.

"I'd think..." his hips didn't know which way to thrust, down against those glorious fingers stretching him wide or the warm hand grasped firmly around his cock. "You'd be able to pick someone-" he moaned as Harry's hand clenched. "-with a bit of decent looks, Potter." Draco's arms came up to wrap around Harry's neck, tugging the other down and pressing their sopping wet chests flush together. "Fuck me Harry." His whispers were ragged, his breathing short and shallow as he nipped lightly at his lover's ear.

"Happily," Harry returned, trying to catch his breath. It was an effort in futility, particularly when he finally did press himself deep within Draco. His eyes threatened to roll back into his head, so he closed them. "This may be... the best bath I've ever had," he managed to gasp out.

The blonde wrangled a moan from between his lips, body sagging against the warmed porcelain behind his back; the stretch, the burn- Bloody fucking hell, Potter felt amazing inside of him. "I'd have to agree." He paused for a moment before testing the waters, literally, and rolling his hips. He hissed as water sloshed over his shoulders and fell onto the floor below, Harry's cock stretching him wide. "Dammit, Harry, if you don't move now-" Draco's arms tightened around a sun-kissed neck. "We won't even come close to a wedding."

"I would call that bluff, but..." Harry couldn't take it, dragged his teeth along Draco's neck as his hips began to move. His hands reached down, clamped around Draco's waist to pull him into each thrust.

Their thrusts were fast and rough, Draco clinging onto Harry as if he would melt into the tub if his hands didn't have some form of purchase, pleasure that burned through his body causing his toes to curl. The blonde's eyes rolled back into his head, his hair falling limp with water against his face as he let out a particularly wanton moan, back arching violently. "H-Harry-!"

Harry panted his lover's name with each thrust. "Draco-! Draco-! Draco-!" It was a mantra, urging him on. Draco tightened around him with every move back, as if letting his cock go was the last thing he wanted. He bit into his neck, directly into the nearly faded mark he'd made nearly three days before to freshen it and reclaim what was his.

Draco practically melted against the brunette, the groans oozing from his lips like the blood that began to dabble on his skin. "Merlin." He slowed his thrusts, taking delight - pure ecstasy - in feeling over harsh thrust of Harry's hips, each clench of Quidditch toned muscles against his stomach, firm thighs pressed against his legs and warm water caressing his cock as Potter gave a particularly rough thrust that had Draco seeing stars, feeling as if fire erupted in his veins. "Yes, Harry, yes."

Harry sucked hard on the wound, nipped at the raised skin. "Mine," he groaned and repeated the hard thrust again and again. "So mine." Water sloshed over the edge unnoticed as his pace increased, a hand leaving Draco's newly bruised hips to curl around his length and pump in time with his thrusting hips. The bruises began to heal as the other element in the water began to act, but Harry kept at Draco's neck to leave that particular mark in place.

Draco groaned, feeling his stomach begin to clench, his toes curling, impossibly long legs, toned from years of Quidditch and years of running after a rambunctious five year old wrapped firmly around the brunette's waist, dragging Harry's cock deeper inside, filling him so wholly Draco thought he'd split in half if he didn't have Harry's arms tucked firmly around his body.

Harry hissed against Draco's neck, then bit sharply and hissed "I love you" in Parseltongue. Every thrust was dragging him closer and closer to the edge. He dug a hand into the small of Draco's back until he felt his balls tighten. "Now," he demanded in Parseltongue and then again in English.

Draco let out a small whimper, body curling in against Harry's, eyes clenched shut as his lips parted in a silent scream. Fire exploded through his veins, his body shuddering as his orgasm tore through him with powerful waves, clenching down against the gorgeous cock inside of him.

Harry let out a shout, sank as deep as he could as he let himself go. His teeth agreed, biting into the already bleeding mark, and his hand worked out every last drop while Draco's spasming muscles drained him.

The blonde gave a last, final moan, air dispelling from his lungs as he sank back against the tub, eyes drifting closed. "I love you, I love you, I love you..." He continually whispered, the words quiet, raspy with a pounding heart.

"I love you too," he managed, swallowing hard as he stretched out atop the blonde, pulling out in the process. He was pleased to realize they'd knocked out enough water that his marked neck was well-away from being healed.

Draco yawned, his jaw stretching wide as he fell back against the tub, body sagged and sated, "Not to be a prat, love, but I'm exhausted."

He laughed breathlessly. "I have been running for two straight days. Never mind the apparition and other spellwork and near-constant worry for Scorpius. The fact that I had enough energy to do that at all is a testament to how bloody irresistible you are."

Draco leaned up, sealing their lips together with a small noise as he pulled away, their foreheads, slicked with sweat, pressed together firmly. "I better be, if I have a damn ring on my finger instead of the other way around."

"You just weren't quick enough to beat me to the asking," Harry teased, nipped lightly at the mark in his skin before drawing back and forcing himself up. Exhaustion hit in a wave and he rubbed his eyes. "Merlin," he muttered. "Next time we're this knackered, you top."

Draco smirked, "I think I could find some interesting ways to keep you up. Now up." He gave his love's shoulders a few small shoves to get him up and out of the dirty water.

Harry chuckled, rising and climbing out of the tub. He offered his hand, smile tired. "I love you, Draco."

The blonde rolled his eyes playfully, fingers lacing with brunette's who gave them a small tug, pulling Draco out of the tub with a hop. "Yes, I think we've covered that." he waved his left hand, his fingers glinting in the dull bathroom light with a wave.

"That we have. Now say it back before you wound my inner-'Puff."

Draco raised a brow. "Your inner what?"

"'Puff." Harry laughed, dragging his lover close for an amused kiss. "Hufflepuff, you twit."

"Sounded like you were going to say something else there, love." Draco leaned down, pressing their lips together in a warm show of affection, silently summoning a fluffy white towel into his grasp, plopping it atop the Gryffindor's sopping wet hair.

Harry chuckled. "Well, who wants to say Hufflepuff all the bloody time? And you still haven't said it back."

Silver eyes, molten mercury with warmth rolled as water dripped from dark blonde locks, sagged with water. "I love you, you sap." He sealed their lips together, shuddering at the perfect fit of their bodies. Why had he not felt this when they were fighting in their Hogwarts days? The ways Harry's shoulders fit perfectly against his collarbone, not sharp or pointed, the way Harry's lips sealed perfectly where Draco's left off, and where their hips locked together in an intimate embrace. Fuck, he was in deep. "I love you," he mumbled against kiss-swollen lips. "I love you, I love you."

Harry smiled, a hand lifting up and entangling in his damp hair as they kissed, Harry backing them towards the bed. He was tired, just wanted to crawl in with Draco beside him and sleep for a week. A simple drying charm floated over them, a warming one chasing the chill away. The fingers of his other hand locked with Draco's, brushing over the smooth band he wore. It was a symbol, a nod to their Houses, their rivalry of old. Silver for Slytherin, gold for Gryffindor. But they were bound, interlaced and locked together.

Unconventional, as Draco had said, but also too hard to resist. Besides, his head had been bashed into the window of the jeweler as he'd been running passed, so he'd needed to go back and fix the window. It wasn't his fault that the ring he'd only glimpsed had called his name and kept him mildly distracted the rest of the chase.

Draco fell against the plush, pale green sheets, the color not escaping his notice as Harry fell beside him and pulled the Slytherin closer, Draco's arms going securely around his waist.

Harry sighed, nuzzling into Draco's neck. "G'night."

He gave a small shove to Harry's shoulder, rolling the other over and tugging the sheets up from under their bodies, leaning down with a simple tilt of his head and pressed his lips to Harry's. "G'night."

Sleepily, Harry curled his body around the blonde's and decided that he could very easily get used to this in his bed every night. His lips curved. Every night the rest of their lives. With that pleasant thought in his mind, the brunette found Draco's hand and intertwined their fingers before dropping off to sleep.

Draco followed a few moments later, thumb drifting over Harry's hand, his ring finger on his left hand to be precise. Little did the brunette know, but Draco, one night of restless sleep when Harry was away, had pulled out the wedding band Astoria had chucked at his head at the end of the divorce case. Of course he wasn't as cliche as to give it to the brunette, tainted with memories from his old relationship; so he had spelled a new one, and it was currently sitting in the bottom of the trunk near Scorpius's bed downstairs, waiting in a small, plush velvet red box. Tomorrow, he decided as his eyes drifted closed, the warmth from Harry's body help ebb the stress from his shoulders. And with one final breath, Draco drifted off, curled against Harry; his fiance. Shit. How were they going to tell the Weasley's...?

-

Ron's reaction was predictable. His bellowed "You're kidding!" echoed in the rather narrow building, the little red-headed five year old beside him jumping a little at the shout and nearly dropping his chocolate frog. Harry only smiled and shrugged.

Hermione had looked worried for a few moments, but quickly decided to voice her concerns - "too fast" and "emotional situation" being the frontrunners - privately and after Ron was calmed down. "Ron, don't shout." She rubbed her belly in slow circles, offering a smile. "I told you they were together."

"You didn't tell me they were engaged! Bloody hell, mate. I know you like blokes and all, but why him?" He'd arrived at Number Twelve just a few minutes before, son and wife with him, and maybe grumbling a little bit about having to help Malfoy with anything. Didn't that git still owe them a life debt? Two if he was remembering correctly. Why did they have to go and help him again?

But he hadn't been there five minutes when he'd seen the golden-haired prat himself stepping out a room, closing the doors with a quiet sigh, and he'd snorted at the ring on his finger, wondering aloud who'd be silly enough to propose to him. And then Harry had appeared, tugged Draco in for a jaw-dropping snog, and Ron had only been able to gape before spluttering out his bellow.

"I would not like that language around my child, Weasley." Said blonde spoke up as Harry tugged him in for another kiss, arms wrapped securely around the blonde's waist, Draco's arms wrapped loosely around his neck as the two whispered to each other quietly. "Scorpius is fine, before you ask. I made sure to ask Kreacher when we woke up if Scorpius slept soundly, and thank Merlin, he did. He only awoke once, and that was because Perry fell off the bed."

Harry smiled slightly. "What else is Perry for but to keep watch on our boy?" The smile widened slightly at the pronoun. Our. He brought his lips back to Draco's, laughed softly into it. But then he drew back and looked at Ron. He knew they'd have to have a talk on their own, but for now... "Ron, mate, it's him because I fell in love with him."

"But... but why?"

Harry grinned. "I'd write you a list, but I don't think there's enough ink in this house for me to get it all down. Should I start with his arse? It's-"

Ron groaned, waving a hand. "Sweet Merlin, please, not that. I'd rather-"

He was interrupted by Hugo's whoop and subsequent rush to the stairs. Teddy had just descended, rubbing his eyes tiredly. They lit up, his hair going the same reddish tone, when he saw the younger boy. "Hi! Uncle Harry, Hugo's here!"

"So I noticed."

"Cousin Draco!" Teddy bounded over, latched onto the end of his shirt with one hand, other arm wrapping around Harry as well as it could so he was holding them both. "I wanna see Scorpius."

"You haven't even eaten yet," Harry pointed out.

"I wanna eat and then I wanna see Scorpius."

"Eat, then you can go see your br- cousin." Ignoring the comment on his arse, Draco realized that he had almost said brother, even if it wasn't the correct term, but it still had him pausing for a moment. When, and if, he had Harry married, what would Teddy and Scorpius be? Still cousins? The blonde was going to assume more as he turned back to the door that Scorpius lay behind, literally, and cracked it open to peak in if the blonde boy was still asleep.

"Draco," Harry murmured, taking his hand. "You need to eat too. It's alright." But he couldn't resist peeking in as well, sighing when he saw the sleeping boy, so small in his too-big bed. "He'll... he'll be fine."

Hermione nudged by as well as she could with the state of her belly, quickly charming herself before stepping in. "Go," she urged quietly. "Ron and Hugo haven't eaten either - it's why he's so cranky."

"I'm not cranky," he muttered and only earned an arched brow from his wife.

Harry smiled, tugging Draco's hand. "She'll take care of him. Come on."

"Can I get you anything while we're in the kitchen, Granger?" Draco spoke quietly as the pregnant women shuffled past them. The nickname wasn't said in animosity, it was said along more of the lines of habit and camaraderie. Draco laced his fingers with Harry's, ignoring Ron's remarks from behind.

"No, it's alright. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"It's Weasley now," Ron grumbled under his breath and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Come off it, Ron. You just got here. Could you not get in a fight with my fiance?"

Ron merely rolled his eyes and turned towards the kitchen. "Come on, Hugo."

Draco gave a small sigh, his lips curving at the term before he glanced back at Harry, mumbling his thoughts before his still-tired brain could catch up. "Are you sure marrying me is worth losing the Weasley clan over?" His hand tightened unknowingly as cheers and laughter echoed from the kitchen.

"I'm not going to lose them," Harry murmured, lifting his hand, letting his lips brush over the knuckles. "But marrying you is worth anything. Now relax. He'll come 'round."

"I hope so." The blonde stepped forward, coming within a few inches of Harry, his breathing mingling with his lover's as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small red box, flicking it open. "I think you know the drill on this one, Potty."

Inside the red box, buried in a bed of plush, gold silk lay a simple golden band, in-laced with a small scripture of Nunc scio quid sit amorin bright, shining silver across the band of the ring. He held it up for Harry to grasp, see, or reject, though he had a feeling (and a pretty damn good one at that) that the brunette wouldn't be rejecting the ring. "Now I know what love is." He spoke quietly, the words leaving his lips as he translated the Latin that laid engraved against the ring.

"'Puff," Harry teased and brushed a finger over the band. "Don't ever call me Potty again and you can put it on my finger, you git."

"I think I can agree to those terms." He leaned down, sealing their lips together as his own ring slid coolly over Harry's finger. "Now you're mine, git. And we already know Malfoys are possessive."

"So are Potters. At least I am." Harry smiled warmly, gazing up at Draco. "You could've waited for later so I could jump your bones."

"My arse is still sore, thanks." Draco chuckled. "What? I don't get a kiss now? I vividly remember snogging you once you placed a ring on my hand." He waggled his hand for affirmation, arms sliding tightly around Harry's waist.

"Well, I never said you couldn't top. It is your turn, isn't it?" Grinning, Harry locked his arms around Draco's neck and drew him down, molding their lips together.

Draco's eyes rolled before slipping closed and titling his head down to kiss the shorter male. Merlin, he wished he'd done this in sixth year.

"Harry, Draco, Scorpius wishes to see you."

The brunette looked over. "How's he doing, Hermione?"

"Better, actually, than he was yesterday. Not by staggering amounts, but enough to be noticeable. You said he slept through the night? That's excellent."

Draco nodded, pulling away from his fiance to walk towards the healer. "Thank you again, Grang- Hermione. I can't thank you enough."

"No, really. I'm not sure if I would've come if Harry hadn't begged me in the first place." Her smile was apologetic. "You were a git, really. But you're clearly an excellent father and you make Harry happy, so..." She waved them off. "Now, go on. If he stays feeling this well, Hugo and Teddy may be able to play with him like they want."

"Please, go help yourself to food in the kitchen then. I hear your husband and child making a ruckus that probably has Kreacher pulling at his ears." Draco chuckled, offering the Healer a small cursory smile before holding a hand out to Harry a few feet away. "Ready to go see your son?" Hermione was zoned out of his brain.

The witch only shook her head, walking off as Harry took Draco's hand. "Already taking over my house, aren't you? Come on then."

"You took over mine, so it's only in due time that I return the favor," he chuckled as he opened the door slowly, fingers lacing with Harry's as he stuck his head into the darkened room. "Scorpius, you awake?"

"Yes, da'y."

Harry smiled, flicking on the lights with a careful flick of his wand. He made sure that the magic only affected the lights and got nowhere near the ill boy. "Morning, Scorp."

Draco lowered the lights slightly with a wave of his hand, cleansing him and Harry as well before stepping further into the room and closing the door with a quiet click. "How did you sleep, kiddo?" He paused, blinking. Kiddo? Damn Potter for rubbing off on him, on his own child none-the-less.

Harry caught the nickname, chuckled. Draco was making all kinds of flubs this morning; engagement seemed to addle his mind a bit. Grinning, he sank down onto the bed besides Scorpius and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. He needed a bath before he played with the other boys, he mused.

Draco sent him a curious glance, eyebrows raised as if to say 'If you don't drop the grin, I will mention what you did in the Quidditch locker-rooms in third year,' fiance or not.

Harry stuck out his tongue, amused by the expression. "How you doin', Scorp?"

Draco smirked, dropping it to allow a small curve of lips come onto his face as he sat against the edge of the bed, adjusting pillows and blankets and kissing Scorpius's head.

"I'm good, 'apa." He let out a loud yawn, his lungs sounding clearer as he stretched with a little huff.

"Grand." And Harry's grin stretched wider because it was. He was feeling better, he'd slept the night through... It was really and truly grand. He reached out, gave Scorpius a hug. "Love you."

Scorpius giggled quietly, eyes tired, but face slowly regaining some of it's usual Malfoy pallor. What Hermione gave him really helped, Draco felt a slow ebb of relief. "You too, 'apa."

The elder Malfoy laughed warmly, leaning down and wrapping an arm around the two male's. "We have some... interesting news Scorpius. Want to hear it?"

The blonde's eager nod almost had him toppling over the side of the bed, saved by Harry's hands around his stomach. "Yes! Yes!"

"You'll need to bathe first." ...Scorpius gave a momentary pause for his bottom lip jutted out suddenly.

"Meanie."

Harry laughed, head falling back. "I'll even go and get your rubber duck from your old home," he offered, flicking a glance at Draco.

"Old home? Oh really?" His smile had the sarcastic tone deflating as he leaned down, "I think we'd both like that." He kissed his lover softly.

Harry smiled, cupping his cheek and kissing back. "Kreacher will be thrilled. Blacks, even without the surname, living here again? We'll see if he ever listens to a word I say again," he joked. "I'll go and get Hermione. She'll get the bathroom ready for him and I shall return shortly." Harry deposited the child in his father's lap before placing a fond kiss on the tip of his little nose. "And Hugo's here now, so you can even play with him after you bathe," he promised.

Scorpius giggled, eagerly turning in his father's lap, arms looping around his neck. "What's the surprise, daddy?" He whispered loudly.

Draco guffawed, gasping dramatically and falling back against the pillows, lifting Scorpius in the air, his little feet and arms dangling. "Now Scorpius, that's cheating!"

Laughing, Harry got up. "Don't give in, Draco. I know he's rather sly, but I'm sure you can hold out."

Draco raised an eyebrow, smirking over his son's shoulder as Scorpius plied his fingers through his father's hair, playing with the locks happily, releasing little coo's, ooh's and giggles.

"Thanks, Potter."

"You're welcome, git." Harry grinned, leaning down to press a fond kiss to his lips. "Be back soon."

Malfoy's answering hum was swallowed under the squeal's released from his child's lips as he dropped Scorpius to his chest with an 'oof', tickling him lightly. "O-ohoho!"

"D-D-D-adddddy!"

Harry laughed again, not wanting to go, not wanting to leave either of them again. It was surprising how much he'd missed them after just two days.

The door to the bedroom closed quietly, Draco giving it a quick look before his eyes zoned in to Scorpius, having to be careful with how hard he was breathing. He let the toddler sit on his chest, plucking at the buttons of his shirt and giggling. Leaning forward, Draco carted a finger through soft blonde locks and pressed a kiss to his son's forehead. "I love you, Scorp."

"I love 'ou too, 'addy!"

-

Harry couldn't leave without the cat. He'd meant to just go and grab the rubber duck and come straight back, but then he'd thought of Scorpius's little nightlight and then of Scorpius's Quidditch bedsheets and then his big lion and... It had snowballed a little from there and, after shrinking the box he'd conjured and pocketing it, he'd intended to leave.

But that cat. "Look. No. No, thanks. I'd rather not have... a cat." This cat. Any cat named Snape. But the cat had stared at him, so he'd huffed and acquiesced. Hermione could deal with the cat. She'd probably have Crookshanks II with her anyway; Hugo loved the feline/kneazle thing.

"Kitty!" Was the first word to be squealed as Harry stepped away from the floo, bright orange hair flashing into the room before he was almost taken down by the rambunctious Weasley child.

Harry laughed, sweeping Hugo up. He laughed, giving the boy's cheeks fond kisses. "You taste like chocolate," he mused but then Hugo always did, so the auror mimed nomming his chubby cheeks and the boy squealed.

"Who's kitty? I want it! Can I?"

"No, Hugo. It's Scorpius's kitty." He balanced the boy on his hip, grinning. "Maybe you can play with him when your hands aren't all sticky.

Hugo pursed his lip, gazing at his hands. "They are not," he denied, a pout on his lips.

"Yes they are, now get back in here young man, and wash up while I go run Scorpius a bath." Hermione chastised from the doorway to the kitchen, hands being wiped against an apron. She really shouldn't be on her feet, but she refused to listen to anyone on that matter.

Hugo gazed longingly at the cat, would've made a grab for it if Harry hadn't set him down. He huffed and, when he heard his father telling him to listen to his mother, he huffed again and ran back to the kitchen.

Harry laughed, depositing the cat. "So I, ah, may have brought one or two things for Scorpius." He retrieved the shrunken box from his pocket and enlarged it to its proper size.

Hermione blinked at the slightly large box. "Are you sure you didn't bring his whole room, Harry?" She shuffled over, using a hand to help lower her to the couch and summon the box over to dig through it and cast a few cleansing charms in the process.

"Only..." Harry's smile turned sheepish as more and more things were taken out. "Okay, maybe most of his room. But... he's here. And he's going to stay here." Harry glanced at the band on his finger, ran his thumb over the Latin carved in. "And so's his father."

"Harry, I wanted to talk to you about that." She paused, holding up the snitch nightlight. "Oh, this is just adorable. Anyway, about the engagement-"

"I was going to wait. I was, really. But then... it just sort of happened."

"That's what I'm worried about, Harry. All of this is just sort of happening. Isn't it a bit... fast?"

Harry dropped down into the chair across from his, hands dangling between his knees and his elbows rested on his thighs. "Listen, Hermione... It's... very fast. I met his son, I met him, we went out for lunch... And then it all just sort of snowballed. You gave him a year. And..." He shrugged, leaning back. "You gave him a year."

"So you're with him because of a diagnosis."

"I'm with him this fast because I have the feelings. The diagnosis is just what's pushing me to not waste time here hiding from the feelings. I'm not going to spend months and months dealing with the past when the past isn't what matters now. That boy matters now and I'm more than happy to be rushing into a relationship with Draco Malfoy. He's... he's amazing. He's smart and he's... He's lived this long without magic and he's dealt with it. His parents have abandoned him, his wife walked out on him, and he's been fighting an uphill battle with Scorpius's disease and prejudices from... Well, the entire Wizarding world."

His grin was easy. "And then, of course, he's absolutely incredible in bed. And you know I've wanted him... for years. I was obsessed with him in school."

Hermione's smile was indulgent. "Yes, I'm aware. If anything went wrong at school, 'It must be Malfoy!'"

"I didn't say it like that."

"Close enough." The witch leaned back, Scorpius's snitch onesie - and wasn't that just the cutest thing ever? - in hand. "So you're absolutely sure about this?"

"I love him, Hermione. I love him and I love his son. I'm absolutely sure."

"Then I'll talk to Ron and forewarn the rest of his family. You know Molly's going to worry if this is the right thing or not."

He smiled, getting to his feet. "I know. Thanks, 'Mione." He walked over and bent to give her a tight hug. "It is the right thing. I'm never letting that blonde git go."

"I think it was a little more nasally at the time there, Potter, and still a git? I swore we moved past that when I got this lovely little ring put on my finger." Draco Malfoy, the blonde git himself, leaned against the living room doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest, one leg clad in a pair of black slacks tucked around the ankles.

He waved a hand flippantly as a little blonde tuft of hair suddenly peaked out from behind his knee. "Boo!"

Draco glanced down at the child with furrowed brows. "You are a horrible little child."

Scorpius giggled, rushing from behind his father's knee and over towards Harry, jumping into his lap with a few attempts and a thud of accomplishment. "Papa!"

"Scorpius!" Harry returned, clutching him tightly. There was an odd thrum around him that soon encompassed Harry as well and he looked curiously at Hermione.

"It's a... bubble, of sorts. I found it yesterday when going through my isolation spells. It should be attached right to his skin, but... It isn't so easy with him, obviously, so it's going to affect anything that gets within a few feet of him."

"It'd be better if it were closer?"

Hermione's expression turned thoughtful as she considered the other things she'd been researching. "Yes."

"I forgot I knew that spell," Draco spoke calmly as he walked over to the couch to gracefully fall against it's cushions, one leg crossing over the other, his arm looping around Harry's to tug the shorter wizard closer. "Used it for Potions when contamination was an issue," he clarified, murmuring the words as he gazed at his son fondly who was playing with the snitch Hermione had reached over and placed in his hands.

Harry smiled, reaching out to brush his left hand over Draco's. He smiled at their rings; they didn't quite match, but... they suited. "I brought your stupid cat. He wouldn't stop staring at me."

Scorpius gasped happily. "Sev'rus!"

Draco nodded, "Thanks. I always forget about him, no matter how... graceful he is in trying to get me up in the morning." He pressed a warm kiss to Harry's temple, never getting over how warm Harry's skin could be compared to his dungeon-cold skin.

"Graceful, my arse," Harry muttered and nuzzled fondly. "Weren't we going to give this one here a bath?"

"No-!" Scorpius grumbled, face scrunching in displeasure.

"Why yes, I think we were!" He swept Scorpius from Harry's arms, pulling the giggling child against his chest and nuzzling his hair. "No bath, no apples mister!" Scorpius's eyes widened with a flabbergasted look, his lower lip jutting out in a pout.

"B-But... Papa!" Scorpius sniffled, glancing over at Harry with a whine.

"You still want to know the surprise, don't you? And you've got your cat now and the rubber duck." Harry plucked the boy up, holding him protectively. "After we're done, you can play with the boys too."

The boy sighed, huffing., arms crossing over his small little chest, covered in a bright, Gryffindor red shirt. "Fine."

"Good." Harry bounced him, grinning, and cast a wicked, teasing glance Draco's way. "My little lion."

Draco's smirk was instantaneous, an fine blonde eyebrow arching as his silver eyes drifted back from his son to his fiance. "He's a lion now, is he?"

Harry gave him a smug look, carrying Scorpius off. "I've been told that Potters have always been in Gryffindor."

"And Malfoys in Slytherin. And if I distinctly recall," Draco gracefully rose from the couch, slinking over towards Harry and Scorpius, and wrapping his arms tightly around the two. "He's of my blood. And Malfoys," he leaned forward, whispering hotly in Harry's ear, arms tightening unceremoniously around Harry's waist, "and Potters don't mix."

"Watch him be in Hufflepuff," Harry teased.

Draco shuddered. "I think Ravenclaw will suffice."

Scorpius gazed on in confusion at the two, who he would soon come to find out would be his legal parents in a matter of months.

"Kitty!"


	14. Haas & Gano

Chapter 14

_Haas & Gano_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

They were on the floor in Scorpius's new room and Teddy's snitch fluttered around their heads. Teddy's hair was the same dark shade as Harry's because he'd elected himself leader and, to him, his godfather was the best leader ever.

Hugo was studying Scorpius a tad warily, chewing on the end of a chocolate bar that Teddy didn't bother to ask for a piece of. Hugo never shared his candies.

The little blonde played with Perry, the unicorn sitting between wide-spread legs as the younger Malfoy heir made whooshing noises and small whinnies, spinning the unicorn around and gasping as he left the isolated bubble; Hermione having decided on keeping him in it, in the isolated room or not. His lower lip quivered; Scorpius was not able to reach out of the bubble to pick anything up, only people were allowed to reach inside as if to ruffle his hair, or adjust his shirt. If Scorpius tried to get at the unicorn, the bubble would bend around it, then cause the little plush to rebound and bounce away. He hated this, as much as a sickly five year old could.

Teddy went for it. It was his duty as the oldest. But then Hugo grabbed it just ahead of him and grabbed the unicorn. "What's his name?" he muttered, one of the first things he'd said to Scorpius, as he reached through the bubble to offer the toy.

"P-Perry..." The blonde flushed, hands coming to grasp at the toy and pull him up to his chest. The first words the red headed boy had said to him, and it was about his unicorn? Okay... okay... He tried to assure himself that the redhead meant no ill intent, he was just trying to be friendly. Him and Teddy got along fine, so why couldn't the blonde and Hugo?

"Okay." Hugo dropped back down. "You have a cat."

Teddy grinned. "Oh, yeah! You do! What's his name?"

"Sev'rus..." The blonde fidgeted nervously.

Teddy scooted closer because it was kinda weird seeing Scorp all nervous. "D'you wanna play hide'n'seek?" The adults had instructed that they stay in the room, but if Teddy was leader he figured he could make choices and stuff himself.

Scorpius nodded quickly, clapping his hands with excitement bursting in wide, silver eyes. "Yes! Yes!" He giggled as he clutched Perry to his chest, glancing at the two older males with nothing short of pure happiness, a quick turn around from his emotions of trepidation that he was feeling no more than two minutes previous.

With a whoop, Teddy jumped to his feet, grasping Scorpius's hand. "C'mon then! Hugo, you be the finder. Me and Scorp are gonna hide first."

"But you can count higher!" he argued, but Teddy just stuck out his tongue and dragged Scorpius out.

"Huffl'puffs are good finders!" The little boy giggled as the door thudded shut behind him, wincing as he almost knocked Kreacher over with his isolation bubble. "S-Sorry, Mr. Elf."

Kreacher bowed. "Are you in need, Master Scorpius?"

Teddy giggled. "Just don't tell Hugo where we've gone! We're playing. Come on, Scorp. You go that way." He waved towards the parlor. "I'll go this way." He waved the other direction. "Only hiding downstairs, okay? We don't want the grown-ups to find us before Hugo can."

Scorpius nodded eagerly, rushing off to the parlor, careful to remain in the center of the hallway, lest he knock anything over.

Teddy went the other way and was quickly hidden in what would've been a laundry room had this house actually been in use by Muggles. Instead, it was storage and kinda smelled like mothballs. Teddy concentrated hard and a very little ball of light floated near him, letting him find the perfect spot - beneath a basket covered in clothes. Hugo'd never find him.

Pleased with his bit of wandless magic, Teddy hunkered down and waited. ...But he forgot to turn the light out.

Scorpius rushed around the parlor, lower lip quivering as he continually knocked things over, glad that the noise was a simple thunk on the carpet. Behind the couch? No, the bubble wouldn't let him fit. Under a table? No, the bubble knocked it over. In between two bookcases? Scorpius rushed over, tears beginning to pool in his eyes as he held his hands out in front of him. Push, push, he chanted inside his head as he held his hands out in front of him as if to get the isolation bubble to warp somehow. Harder and harder he tried to fit between the cracks of the two bookcases that lined two separate walls, harder and harder- He rebounded, flying a few feet and landing with a thunk on the floor, his bum cushioned by the bubble. Tears leaked down his cheeks, a sniffle escaping as he curled up inside the bubble. T-This wasn't fair.

Hugo, having counted to twenty-five as far as he knew - two bajillion came after sixteen, right? - had been watching since the table. But now with Scorpius sniffling and curled up in a ball, he felt kinda bad. It wasn't her fault... If Scorpius was a girl. Hugo wasn't exactly sure. He kinda looked a lot like a girl. His hair was kinda long and really light and he was super little.

But anyway, it wasn't Scorpius's fault that he was really bad at hide'n'seek. So Hugo sighed and shuffled in, dropping down beside his playmate. "Hey. You're kinda bad at this."

"I can't d-do it!" He sniffled, sobbing softly. "This isn't fair!" His arms came to hit the bubble, bouncing back almost painfully before cross over his chest, tears pouring quietly down his tear-flushed cheeks as the bubble, casting a shadow by the sunlight, even showed the dust the simple bubble was reflecting away; the air around Scorpius perfectly cleansed. "I-I..." The tears dripped against his shirt. "I-I just wanna play..."

The redhead huffed, reaching out and poking Scorpius's shoulder. "Then we just gotta find something you can play. Don't be dumb."

Scorpius pouted, rubbing at his tears. "I-I'm not dumb." He glanced at the hand that retracted from his bubble. Why was this boy so confusing?

"You're actin' dumb." Hugo took out his chocolate bar and broke it in half. He offered a piece, frowning. "Here. Now stop cryin'. Mum fixes people all the time and Uncle Harry and dad help people too. So you just gotta stay in the bubbly thing a li'l while, geez."

Scorpius grumbled, taking the piece of chocolate with a simple thanks. That had to make him special right? The Weas-a-lee boy never gave chocolate to anyone! He took a small bite happily, scrunching up his face as it hit his slowly coming-in tooth.

"Oh! That's cool." Hugo pointed right at his mouth. "I lost a tooth too, but it growed back. Mum says I'll lose another soon, see?" He wiggled a lower tooth with his tongue, crossing his eyes in a failed attempt to see his own mouth.

Giggles left Scorpius's lips, covered by a puny hand as the chocolate rested against a pajama-bottom covered leg. The giggles almost turned into full-blown laughter before the child slowly stopped, taking in a few deep breaths as it became harder to breathe.

Hugo chewed on his chocolate, watching until the blonde was breathing normally again. "C'mon. Help me find Teddy. He won since I found you first, but this game's kinda dumb." He loved the game, but if Scorpius couldn't play, he could make due.

The blonde nodded, standing slowly as he finished off his chocolate with a pleased hum. "Okay." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, blinking as it vanished instantaneously as he began hurriedly following the red-head out of the room, stumbling over his sock-clad feet.

"Don't fall," Hugo instructed and offered the rest of his candy bar. If Scorpius was a girl, it was the nice thing to do, wasn't it? And if he was a boy, this obviously meant that they'd just be best friends or something like his dad and Uncle Harry. It didn't matter that he didn't share his sweets with Teddy because Teddy was older. He could get his own.

Scorpius smiled warmly, his toothy grin bright against tear-stained cheeks. "I-I'll be careful." He nibbled on the bar happily, before pausing in thought. Removing the rest of the wrapper, he broke off half of it and held it out to the boy, right at the edge of his bubbling. A peace-making gesture, he would wonder when he was older, looking back on this day.

Hugo took the piece immediately. "Thanks, mate," he said, trying the word out. Dad called Uncle Harry that all the time. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, nodded. "Yeah. Don't fall or get hurt or nothin'," he ordered and grabbed Scorpius's hand to drag him down the hall.

The blonde let a small smile grace his lips at the magic that tingled against the hand clasped in his. "O-Okay."

-

"What do you mean you've hit a stand-still?" Draco's eyes, wide with fear that Harry seemed to be the only one to recognize, grasped the edge of the table, hands shaking violently.

"This is... Well... I haven't run through everything exactly. But I don't know where else to go at the moment. I do have one theory, but testing it..." Hermione leaned back in her chair, rubbing her belly in slow circles. "I don't think we should yet. Not until he gets a bit stronger."

Harry sighed, covering one of Draco's hands with his own. "What until then, Hermione?"

"I suppose I can look through things that correspond to my theory."

"But he was doing so well... What suddenly changed? What changed your theory?"

"He was doing well. In the hospital. He was responding well to everything he was given, particularly the day before the crash." She flipped open a folder, double-checked a time chart. "Actually, just a few hours before that crash."

Harry looked over the times, brow furrowing at the area she pointed at. "That's when I left. Just a little while after."

"Yes, I know."

"What are you saying?" Draco leaned forward, brow furrowed as his eyes took in the charts in Harry's hand. "Do you mean to say that Harry is-?"

"Daddy!"

Draco jolted upwards, eyes wide as he gazed at the doorway to the kitchen. "S-Scorpius!"

"Wow!" came Hugo's voice. "That's a whole lotta blood!"

Teddy poked his head into the room, eyes wide. "Aunt Hermione! It was an accident!"

Harry's eyes sprang wide and he rushed out, brushing passed the boy. His hair was at his natural brown shade, which worried him that much more. What kind of accident caused a "whole lotta blood?" And-

Bugger, that was a lot of blood. The boys were in the kitchen, and Scorpius shirt was soaked a dark red, a shocking difference from the pale blue he wore after his bath, and Hugo was holding the material up to his nose for him while his arms flapped rather uselessly.

Harry crossed the barrier, kneeling down. Only then did he realize he had his wand in his hand and set it aside. "Let go, Hugo. Let me see."

The redheaded five year old pouted, but released the shirt, and Harry tugged it away from his nose. It was gushing blood and made him a little queasy.

Draco rushed forward at the sight of so much blood dripping from his son's nose, quickly kneeling down, heart pounding.

Tears leaked from Scorpius's eyes as his hands jerked up to block his nose, little sniffles escaping his chest. Draco's arms were instantly around the boy, drawing his violently small form against his chest. "D-D-Daddy..."

"Shhh, Scorpius, shh." He stroked the boy's hair as cleansing magic washed over him, glancing behind him at Hermione. "Why isn't it getting rid of the blood? It should heal, or clean, shouldn't it?" He rubbed Scorpius back, ignoring the blood that slowly began leaking its way onto his shoulder. "Harry, can you go get me a warm, damp cloth please?"

"I told you that the bubble needed to be closer to his skin to actually heal him. All it does now is protect him."

"Fat lot of good that's done," Harry grumbled and grabbed his wand without a thought.

Hermione narrowed her eyes a fraction, but didn't try and stop him from the episkey he performed on the child's nose.

Scorpius winced at the violent pull against his nose, tears pouring from his eyes as a sob left his lips, his knees shaking, hands clenching his still bleeding nose violently. "D-D-Daddy-!" The little boy's chest racked with waves of sobs, blood dripping from between his fingers to land on the floor against his sock clad feet.

Hermione sighed. Either her theory was wrong or there was something she was missing. "Get out of his bubble. Get out. Both of you. Harry, his blood's too thin for that to work as it should. Though the fact that your spell didn't outright kill him gives quite a bit of credence to my theory..."

"K-Kill him?" Draco turned, knees burning against the rub of the floor, the friction twisting the fabric against his knees painfully. "That could of killed him!"

Scorpius whimpered, shrinking back from the yells, causing Draco to instantly deflate and turn slowly, a hand coming up to place against the shell of the bubble. "Oh Scorpius, shh, I am sorry for yelling. I know you don't like it when I yell. I'm sorry." His heart was breaking at the sight of his son trapped in something that was suppose to help, and bleeding against his clothes, the red liquid dripping to the floor, trapped partially between tiny little fingers. "O-Oh Scorpius.." Ron hadn't spoken up this whole time, which the blonde was more than thankful for. He turned, sat fully on his knees, and placed both hands against the bubble, Scorpius reaching up, ignoring his blood gushing from his nose, and placed his hands over his father's, the bubble forming around the appendages. "Daddy..."

"Draco, I mean it. If you want the bubble to do what it's supposed to do, move away," Hermione ordered.

Harry was staring at his wand, stumbling back from the bubble. Merlin, that could have... But why?

Draco moved back with a few, shaking movements. "H-He could of died... Right there..." Silver eyes wide with fear, with such worry it swept through Draco's veins in waves, his heart tore at the images of his son lying flat on his face, the bubble still pulsing around him, his heart no longer beating... blood pooling around his little, blonde head... Oh Merlin. "Hermione, what is going on?" The exclamation shook, just as Draco's hands did against his legs.

"I think... Well, I think it has something to do with Harry..." She waved her hand. "But that doesn't matter now. Scorpius, I know it hurts really bad, but can you tell us how you got hurt?"

"He tripped," Hugo spoke up from against Ron's leg.

Hermione glanced over, sighed, and looked back at the bleeding boy. The bubble wasn't moving in any closer like it was supposed to. "Merlin, I think I have to get rid of it..."

"But Hermione-!"

"Harry," she snapped, "it should be moving close enough to stop the bleeding. It isn't. We'll have to do it the Muggle way. Now, Harry, you come with me. We'll take Scorpius to his room and handle things from there. Draco... I'm so sorry, but I think you have to stay here."

"What? Hermione! You can't be serious! He is my son, I should be there-"

"Draco," Harry spoke calmly, emerald eyes pleading, "I know he's your son, but a parent must do what is best for their child. And in this situation, you staying here," he waved a hand as if to encompass the whole kitchen, "is what's best." He reached forward to take the blonde's trembling hands, bringing them to his lips for a soft kiss on his knuckles.

"Harry..."

"I know. I love you. He's mine too, remember? He'll be okay."

"Harry, come along before he loses too much blood."

Draco watched the two of them leave, hands clenched, his bottom lip being gnawed on almost violent enough to cause blood.

"Cousin Draco, will he be okay?"

"Yes," Hugo muttered, face buried in his father's pant leg. "I told him to be careful..." He looked up, dark eyes flickering with worry, lip stuck out in a pout. "I did, dad..."

Ron blew out a breath, swooping his son up. Shite. "You may as well take a seat, Malfoy." He cleaned up the blood that had dripped to the floor with a flick of his wand. "Once Hermione has something in her head, she won't let go."

"I've gathered that..." The Malfoy, for once in his family's history, did not give a flying fuck about appearing cool, calm, and utterly collected near a blood-traitor. Grabbing the back of a plain kitchen chair, Malfoy flopped down unceremoniously, shucking his hands through his hair and rubbing at his hazy silver eyes. "Fuck, this is so messed up..."

Hugo wiped his sleeve over his nose, lip quivering. "We were chasin' the cat. An' I was holdin' Scorp's hand." He didn't bother to try and say the full name; he couldn't get it out even when he'd been talking to the young Malfoy. "An' then... I guess I let go an' then he fell an'... 'm sorry. He didn't fall hard or nothin'."

Teddy climbed into Draco's lap and gave him a hug because that's what you were supposed to do when someone was upset. And he was pretty sure that cousin Draco was very, very upset. And maybe he was upset too, but he was ten and a half, which made him pretty much grown up. "Uncle Harry'll fix it. He helps people all the time."

"Oh I know he does Teddy, and it's not your fault Hugo." Draco stroked Teddy's back, more for his own comfort then the child's. "Harry will help him, don't worry. I'm just..." His eyes flitted up to meet those of the youngest male Weasley. "I'm just sad."

"Don't be sad," Hugo instructed with a decisive nod.

Ron sank down into a chair across from Malfoy, lightly bouncing his son on his knee. "You've figured out what Hermione's getting at, haven't you?" he asked quietly.

"I've got a few ideas," he shrugged, eyes flitting down to the small, albeit bigger than Scorpius, boy in his lap. "None of them are anything pleasant, but nothing is anymore." Draco lifted a hand, gently stroking his fingers through Teddy's hair as the boy snuggled up to his elder cousin's chest.

"One of those ideas may lead to the cure, so..." Ron shrugged, entirely unsure how to strike... small talk with a former Death Eater. Even if all the Dark Marks were gone, there were still really evil people out there, people who were responsible for the scars on his brother's face, the missing ear of another brother, and the death of a third. His family had suffered. They'd suffered a lot and here was this... member of that group. Ron's heart thudded because he felt sympathy, but he wanted justice. His son was dying, though. And he knew that Draco had never technically done anything to them. For fuck's sake, he hadn't given Harry up at the Manor and even Malfoy wasn't stupid enough to not recognize Harry Potter. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do with this irritation, so he kept bouncing his son and thanked Merlin that it wasn't Hugo alone with Harry and Hermione.

So... so fuck it. "So you and Harry...?"

"Um..." He rubbed his own hair, a sigh leaving his lips as he sagged against the hard back of the wooden chair, summoning Kreacher with a wave of his hand and politely asking for tea and something for the children. "Yes, me and Harry." What was he supposed to say? 'Well, my son is dying, Harry found him pushed over in a park and now, oh would you look at that? I'm engaged, and shagging your best friend.' Yeah, that would go over lovely.

"'Mione clued me in, y'know. Not a whole lot, but... I dunno. Knew you two were together and I know he found you at that park between his flat and that Muggle coffee shop he likes." Ron looked down at his son, running his fingers slowly through the boy's hair. "Look, that's a big bloody deal. He doesn't help people like this, not anymore, not since... Well, he's probably told you all about it already. But he's helped you. That's a big deal, means you can't be all bad." That doesn't mean I trust you, but that went unsaid.

"Well thank you for that, Weasley." Draco grumbled, trying to ignore the small flares of exhausted anger that boiled in his chest. He knew it was just worry, he knew it was just a cumulative of all the emotions he went through in the past few moments; but it was still a stingy subject to be talking to a Weasley who on no specific occasion wanted him dead and served on a cold platter to the... vermin he 'served.' "And I thank you for allowing Gra- Hermione to help in my son's case. It does mean a lot, shocker there."

He gave a soft laugh. "Hermione does what she wants. And so does Harry." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. "I am sorry about your son. No one deserves this."

"Yes well, I guess whatever the Muggles call it - 'Karma,' wasn't it?" He absentmindedly stroked Teddy's back, the boy beginning to drift off against his cousin. "-does eventually come to bite you in the proverbial arse, if I do say so myself." Draco's heart twinged, almost painfully grabbing the breath from his lungs. What were Harry and Hermione doing that was taking so bloody long? Draco was worried sick, not that he would admit it with a Weasley no more than two feet in front of him.

"Others deserve worse." Ron shrugged. "You didn't sell us out."

"Yes, well," Draco wouldn't mention the nasty hex (or twenty) he'd received from his lovely Auntie Bellatrix once that was all found out. He shifted in his seat, his shoulders twinging at the memory.

Harry interrupted, dropping heavily into a third chair and rubbing a tired hand over his face. "He's okay. And... I put him in that bubble thing again except... how it's supposed to go. That takes a lot out of you when you've never done it before..."

Draco jerked up from his seat, careful not to rouse the child in his lap. With a small movement, he slid his cuppa over to Harry, placing a kiss against his temple and muttering a warming charm for the tea. "Drink a little, then go take a nap. Hermione will keep us updated."

He picked up the cup, stared at it for a moment before taking a sip. His fingers were trembling, though, so he set it down and reached for his godson. "I'll take him with me." He offered a tired smile. "Scorp wanted to see you. 'Mione's with him. Ron?"

The redhead nodded, understanding the unspoken question. "Yeah, mate."

"Thanks."

The blonde blinked in confusion, standing and following Harry out of the kitchen with muted footsteps. "Was there something I missed?"

"Not really. He gets it." Harry hefted Teddy a little better and the sleeping boy turned his face into Harry's chest with an unintelligible mumble. Outside the downstairs bedroom, Harry curled his fingers into Draco's shirt and dragged him down for a brief, heated kiss. "I did that spell on him. Hermione had to leave the barrier entirely and drop it for a moment, but I did that spell and now he can touch things and stuff again."

Draco sighed, feeling a wave of positive relief wash over him like a cool shower. Reaching up a hand to gently caress Harry's cheek, he pressed their lips together softly, comfort pouring from the brunette to the blonde and back again. "Thank you. Thank you."

"I love you," he murmured. "Now go say hi and promise him he doesn't need another bath already. He was worried about that." Harry smiled and gave him a last, gentle kiss before starting up the steps.

Draco's cautious smile followed him up the stairs before he let out a long sigh, shoulders sagging, hands running through already tousled locks before he turned and walked towards the door, waving a hand for a cleansing charm before giving a curt knock. "Scorpius?"

"Daddy!" The sound of little feet got louder, padding towards the door, before it was jerkily opened, the little child clinging to the doorknob, feet almost in the air from having to jump to reach the metal knob. "Hi, daddy!" There was no blood in sight as Scorpius dropped to his feet and ushered Draco in with a full pulls to his father's pant leg.

Hermione smiled, pushing her hair back and quite honestly stuck on the floor because she'd sat on it like a fool. "I'm really beginning to think that my theory is going to pan out. I just need to do a bit more research on it. But as you can see, he's doing fine. He lost... a lot of blood, but he's doing fine."

Draco placed the boy on the floor after lifting him for a hug, walking over and holding both hand's down to the witch, gently helping her from the floor and giving her a quick once-over to see if she was alright. "Will I be entitled to know this theory, or has my fiance forbade you to speak of it?" Scorpius giggled at the fancy words, still unknowing to the state of his father and soon-to-be papa's affairs.

"Actually, he wasn't in much of a state to have it explained to him." Hermione sighed. "I think... Well, you know the basic reason why Harry was able to defeat Voldemort in the end. He did... announce it on the table, after all. His mother sacrificed herself for him and it was her love. Now I think that's still affecting him. It's still a very strong part of his magic. I think that, for lack of a better term, that purification has made him capable of helping Scorpius in a way I don't think anyone else can."

Draco sat on the bed, Scorpius chatting amiably in his lap, tutting Perry around and mumbling about 'Having to rescue 'he 'rincess!'

"What do you mean? Like... some sort of filter? A filter for what?" His brow furrowed in confusion, trying to process the thoughts. What did the brunette mean? That something was contaminating Scorpius, and Harry's magic, his love for his son, was helping filter that out? But what was the contamination? He bounced Scorpius on his knee as a way to help sort his thoughts.

Hermione blinked at him. "A filter... That actually makes sense." She didn't pace only because her feet were beginning to hurt. "A filter would let Scorpius's magic generate, block the contaminate from getting through and steady the flow. If his magic could generate naturally, without the contaminate, he wouldn't have a problem at all. So yes. Yes, Harry is very likely a filter. I just need to figure out how to use that."

"Hermione- Granger- Sit down, please. You're making me dizzy." He moved over to allow the women to sit with a small huff. "Now, slow down and back track. What do you mean, and in slightly less specific terms. I'm a Potions expert, not a Healer." Scorpius hopped off Draco's lap, giggling and rushing around the room as Draco carefully charmed one of Teddy's snitches to slowly zoom around for the tragically small five-year old to rush around and try and nab, very successfully at that.

"I don't exactly have the specific terms." She ran a hand through her hair, fairly frustrated. "Alright." She took a breath. "Alright. Now then. Scorpius's illness stems from his body turning on his magic. His body thinks that his magic is a foreign substance that needs to be stamped out. Its attempt to kill his magic is killing him. You know that.

"Why it's doing that is, quite simply, a contaminate. Something is contaminating Scorpius's magic. If there is a filter applied - if Harry's magic is somehow applied to Scorpius's, it may become strong enough to filter out the contaminate. Scorpius's magic will be able to flow freely with Harry's help. Ergo, Scorpius will live.

"Now the problem is the application. I have absolutely no idea how to get Harry's magic to interact with Scorpius's." She nodded decisively, much in the way her son tended to do. "Understand?"

"Yes, I'm grasping it. Careful Scorpius!" The little boy giggled, nodding, and moved away from the dresser in the corner of the room, near a brightly lit window.

"Do you know what the contaminate might be?" Draco shifted to glance at Hermione through the white-blonde fringe that swept against his nose, looking very... ordinary in a simple white button down and slacks, feet bare and hair disheveled.

"Honestly...? No. It's very possible that everyone else's magic is affecting him. I left the room and Harry was was able to perform the spell to its max capability. I have absolutely no idea if it's everyone, just certain magical signatures, or..." She waved a hand. "I have no idea. Destroying the contaminate would also cure Scorpius, but... if it is all other magic, that will never happen. Trying to figure out how Harry will help him is the best course at this point."

"So there is the option that Scorpius will need to live as a Muggle, I assume?" Draco pinpointed, shifting awkwardly. He enjoyed having magic back in his life, bloody well cherished it, his wand warm against the holster attached to his arm. But, if his son were to live as a Muggle... Were to need it to survive? Draco knew, without a single regret, he would give up magic once more without a thought. He lived without it for three years, what's another fifteen, another twenty?

"Well... no. Even Muggles come across magic on a daily basis. If the magic of others is what's bothering him, then... Again, Harry. If Harry's willing to link his magic with Scorpius's, he'll be fine."

Draco fell back against the pillows, running a hand over his haggard appearance. "And if he isn't? Or if something goes wrong? There are so many variables to this, Hermione."

Scorpius ambled over, reaching both hands over the edge of the bed and grabbing onto the covers, tugging himself up and over to fall into his father's lap. "Daddy, I'll be okay!"

"Of course you will be, Scorpius." Hermione smiled. "And, Draco, do you honestly think Harry would say no? He loves you and he loves Scorpius. Now, then, I'm going to head home and get a few more books. I'll let Ron know." She managed to get to her feet, smiled warmly at father and son. "I'm sure there's some record on magical sharing somewhere."

Hermione disappeared without another word, Draco rolling over and groaning into the pillows that smelled of apples and cinnamon, a relaxing combination. Scorpius giggled, curling up against Draco's side and closing his eyes. "S'all goin'a be okay daddy. You'll 'ee!"

Draco smiled softly, turning his body over to pull Scorpius against his chest, dimming the lights with a calculated wave of his hand. "Of course it will Scorpius. We have Harry to thank for that."

"Papa!"

The brunette wandered in, closing the door before coming to the bed. He climbed up, snuggling Scorpius in-between himself and Draco. "Bloody exhausted and I couldn't sleep," he mumbled, lips curving into a tired smile. "Just what've you done to me, Malfoy, to make me need you so much?"

Draco chuckled as Scorpius happily snuggled down between the two, Draco lifting the duvet from under them to cover his - their son. Their son. Holy shite, did that sound amazing. "Oh you know, Potter. Just a little bit of this, a little bit of that." He shrugged playfully, arm reaching towards the ceiling. "Maybe a little bit of Dark Magic."

Harry captured his hand, entwining their fingers. "Git. Sleeping now. Oh." His eyes, which had started to drop, blinked open. "We never told Scorp our news."

As Draco began to drift off, warmth seeping into his bones, Scorpius's little silver eyes cracked open. "Hm?"

"We're getting married, Scorpius." Draco smiled, curling around the boy, fingers laced tightly with Harry's. "Harry is going to be your new papa."

The blonde's answering cheers had the five-year old colliding with Harry's chest, the kid happily snuggling down against his papa with small, exhausted chants of "I love you! So happy! Perry and Harry! Papa! Papa! Pa...pa... love you..."

"Love you too, Scorpius. I love you." He buried his nose into Scorpius's hair, sighing quietly and letting his eyelids lower once again. He snuggled just a little bit closer, pressing his lips to Draco's. "And you," he murmured. "Sleeping now. Honestly." And he was, lids lowered over emerald eyes, lips parted just slightly to allow puffs of warm air through and rested against lightly Draco's.

Draco drifted to sleep, content with the warmth Harry provided, their faces pressed innocently together as Scorpius rolled around before falling still, sleep claiming his tired and aching body, carrying him to the dreams that the two adults had once so greatly feared, dreams full of hope and bliss.


	15. Itzstedster Apfel

Chapter 15

_ Itzstedster Apfel _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"Harry, Harry love, wake up." A voice whispered, a chuckle slowly escaping into the air that began rousing Harry from his sleep.

Harry really didn't want to, which was a fairly rare state of affairs. If he wasn't absolutely and completely secure in his location, he'd be up in a finger-snap. So his mumbled "go 'way" and subsequent roll to hide in the pillows wasn't any more normal than the giggle that followed.

The brunette opened an eye, studying the source. Scorpius had been, it seemed, curled up on his chest and was now burrowed against his side from Harry's roll. And Harry was up instantly, rolling the rest of the way over to pin the boy. The tickles began immediately.

Scorpius squealed happily, rolling over and wiggling like a new born animal, trying to get to its feet for the first time. "P-P-Papa!" His laughter rang loudly, his hands clutching onto Harry's as his face reddened with exertion, and tears pricked at his eyes, laughter rumbling in his little chest. "P-Papa!"

Draco laid, silently, at the edge of the bed, blonde head propped in his hand as he gazed at the two fondly, a small smile, ever curling at the edges of his cupid-bow lips, turned upwards against his face. This was his family. How had he not seen it sooner?

Harry rolled onto his back, holding Scorpius in the air above him. He glanced at Draco, wide grin forming. "Good morning. Or whatever time it is."

"Good morning, handsome."

Scorpius glanced over from wiggling his 'toesies' and 'fing'les' in Harry's face, giggling happily. "Morning, daddy!"

Harry laughed, bringing Scorpius down for a fond cuddle. He placed a smacking kiss on the child's brow before placing a smouldering one on Draco's lips. "I could get used to this."

Draco held the kiss for a few moments, a hand lifting from his side to caress Harry's stubble-laden cheek, his engagement ring catching in the light. "I think I might already be there," he whispered, eyes fervent and warm, glowing in the morning light, his thumb running back and forth against a low-set cheekbone.

"Mm." There was a beat of silence. "Yeah. Used to it."

Draco chuckled warmly, looping an arm around the trouble maker sitting atop his fiance's stomach and pulling him between the two, instantly tickling his little sock-clad feet.

"R-R-Rawrrr!" Scorpius giggled, rolling between Harry and Draco, bumping into their stomachs and laughing, the sound filling the room, seeming to Draco eye's to make it brighter. Draco hissed playfully, lifting Scorpius's clean, bright blue shirt and blowing a small raspberry against his tummy.

Laughing, Harry snatched Scorpius up, holding his shirt up and grinning at Draco. "Attack."

Draco laughed quietly, enjoying the small squeal's from his son as his fingers ran over Scorpius's stomach, his eyes meeting Harry's for a moment as the child rolled around and squealed, before he turned back to the 'task' at hand, literally.

Harry laughed while Scorpius squealed and writhed, holding the boy closer to his chest. He dropped a fond kiss to the top of his head, letting go before the child could tire himself out too thoroughly and grabbed Draco's shirt to drag him close to put those lips of his to better use. Merlin, he thought, thunderstruck at the sudden realization that this was his family. His.

Scorpius watched on happily, giggling and reaching between his parents - he thought the term with a bright wave of excitement, grabbing Perry's hoof and tugging, and tugging... and tugging. Draco molded his lips to Harry's, a small sigh of pleasure escaping his lips as his son went shocking unnoticed. A thud resounded around the room, Scorpius tugging Perry from between his parents and him and the unicorn off the bed.

Harry drew back at the thud, breathe heavy, eyes half-lidded. He glanced Scorpius's way to make sure he was alright before leaning in and nipping Draco's lower lip. "I need a shower and probably a shave," he murmured. "See if everyone else is up and then join me?"

Scorpius giggled from his position on the floor, legs to the air as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Boom!"

Draco pulled away, confused, glancing around for a moment before his hazed silver eyes took to the floor. Laughter, starting low in his chest, slowly bubbled past his lips, infectious to the little five year-old who soon took after his father (in more ways than one) and proceeded to start cackling with laughter, his little feetsies, as he called them, wiggling in the air with peels of laughter. "Boom! Boom!"

Harry chuckled, giving Draco a squeeze before stretching out on his stomach over the bed, reaching down and catching Scorpius's socked feet, wiggling them himself.

Scorpius giggled contently, wiggling his feet and playing with Perry, eyes fixated on the plush's big, round eyes.

Draco leaned over, gently running a hand through Harry's hair and down his back, fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. "He's beautiful, isn't it?" Draco whispered solemnly.

"Seeing how he looks just like you? Yeah." Harry turned his head, smiling slowly. "He's pretty much perfect."

Draco felt a blush, a small tingle of warmth slowly slide up his neck and burst against his cheeks, ducking his head to feign glancing at his son to cover the obvious show of embarrassment. "Sap."

"Lovely git," Harry returned. He hadn't missed the embarrassment. Reading people came easier after a few years of interrogations.

Draco leaned over the bed, smoothly engulfing Scorpius's hand in his own and running his thumb over the back of his hand lightly. "Up off the floor Scorpius, don't want you getting dizzy."

"I bet there's an apple or two in the kitchen with his name on them. Come on, kiddo." Harry hefted himself off the bed, swooped Scorpius into his arms, and beamed down at Draco.

Draco reached up, nimble fingers clasping around the Gryffindor's shirt and tugging him down for a sugar-sweet kiss. "Love you, git."

"When you give me such sweet pet-names, how could I ever resist?" He nipped at Draco's lip. "Love you too, prat."

With a roll of hearty silver eyes, Draco gave them a shove towards the door. "You know the drill about my son, which is oddly horrifying, so you can get him breakfast while I take a damn shower."

Harry grinned, balanced Scorpius on his hip and toyed with the mussed collar of Draco's shirt. Rumpled elegance. Odd how irresistible that was. "All by yourself?" he teased.

Draco raised an eyebrow, eyes darting down to the boy in his lover's arms. "Well I guess I could take Scorpius if I really wanted to."

Harry lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbed the temples. "Hmm... For some reason, I just can't quite remember why I love you..." But there was a laugh in his voice that he couldn't quell, nor did he particularly bother trying.

Draco pouted, his lower lip jutting out. "Well fine, if you put it that way. You can shower alone." He turned, an almost playful drama to his movements as he moved towards the door, Scorpius giggling behind his hands at the two's playful antics.

"You there." Harry hefted Scorpius up, gave him a fond, happy kiss on each of his cheeks. "Go tell Kreacher everyone wants apple pancakes for breakfast. Got that?"

Scorpius giggled, nodding happily, Perry mushed between their chests as his hands came up to squish against Harry's cheeks. "Okay, daddy!" He kissed his nose sloppily.

Harry chuckled. "You and Perry help him out, okay? I'm sure he'll love the assistance." He'd hate it, but Kreacher would tolerate it because the child had Black blood in him. Smiling, Harry set Scorpius onto his feet and held a hand out to Draco, his ring glinting in the light of the room. "Shall we?"

Draco laced their fingers, tugging Harry forward as Scorpius rushed out of the room with a small cheer of "Kreacher!" and a crash and swear from the house-elf. "Mm, I think we shall."

Harry chuckled, leading Draco to the stairs. "I'm glad that bubble thing worked."

Draco nodded, heart twisting as he heard shrieks of laughter from more than one child pour from the kitchen. Is this where he'd landed himself in the span of a week? So soon? His biggest worry was that it would suddenly be stripped from him. His son, his in-love-with-since-sixth-year-finally-there lover, this... family they had created. His hand tightened in Harry's slightly as they made their way slowly up the ever-winding stairs.

Harry's grip tightened as well and he looked back, gazing at Draco. "You're worried."

Draco dropped his gaze to the steps, taking them one at a time, just as he allowed his thoughts to trickle down to help process his own emotions. "Of course I'm worried. My son is progressively getting worse, then better, then I'm making him worse- You're making him better- Everyone is telling us this relationship is going to fast, and my life is spiraling around and ontop of it I'm just confused. Of course I'm worried." A sneer slowly curled at the elder Malfoy's lips.

"He's getting better. Keep that in your head, Draco. We have a couple of mishaps now and again, but he's still here. And he always gets better. You're not doing anything to make him worse, love. And, yes, this relationship is going fast. I don't care. I wasted enough time wanting you to go slow now that you're here. My life's spiraling too; I've learned to ride it. What's got you 'just confused', though?"

"Would 'life' be an acceptable answer?" The reached the top of the staircase, pausing for a moment, hands linked. The two painted an interesting picture from faraway. One shorter male, dressed ruggedly, hair disheveled, spectacles lopsided on his face. The other, taller by at least a head, aristocratic face set in an expression of confusion - of pain - so much paler than his sun-kissed counterpart, hands clasped, the taller blonde dressed in black slacks and a rumpled button-down. They both felt the same pain, they both wore rings, they both knew what they were getting into. "Life. Yeah, life is confusing."

"Life is ridiculously confusing. But we deal with it and we learn from it. And maybe we get lucky sometimes and there's some clarity within the bafflement." Harry smiled. "Plus, it's all perspective. I look at you and Scorpius and I see clarity."

With a roll of silver hued eyes, Draco tugged Harry closer, arms looping around the other's waist. "Bloody Hufflepuff."

"I have friends who were in Hufflepuff. I don't think it's very nice that we keep using it as an insult." But his arms wrapped around his neck, a hand going into his hair. "Everything's going to be fine. I've got my package deal, my pretty little new family, and I'm not letting go. I'm very stubborn, Draco."

The blonde leaned down, resting their foreheads together, eyes searching for something in those shocking pupils of emerald green. "I've gathered that."

"Then you know I mean what I say. I'm not letting you go, either of you. And everything'll work out."

Leaning forward, he pressed their lips together quietly, allowing the world to just fall silent; no screaming kids, no pesky healers (no matter how much they helped), no feuding friends. Just him and Harry for the next few moments. The blonde pulled Harry closer, nipping at his lower lip. "If it doesn't, you're sleeping on the couch."

"You're going to be a bossy wife, aren't you?" Harry quipped, fingers tangled in those soft, white-blonde locks.

"I'm the wife now," he nipped at the others lips, taking a step forward, backing Harry against a refurbished wall. "-am I? I don't recall agreeing to that." Raking his nails down Harry's sides he tilted his head, lips pressing fervently, heatedly against a tanned neck, nipping lightly.

"Wives don't bunk on the couch." Harry's breath came out on a low moan, fingers sliding down. "Hope you don't like this shirt." With a sharp tug, it was torn open, buttons scattering to the floor. And Harry was turning Draco, pinning him to the wall, and taking over. His teeth grazed over the newly revealed chest, a leg pressing between the blonde's.

The blonde let out a shuttered moan, hands splayed across the wall as he bucked back against Harry. "Have your fun now Potter, it'll change soon." He shuddered, biting his lip to suppress a moan at a particularly hard bite against his shoulder.

Harry was more than tempted to just push the shirt aside, but there were too many people in the house. "Come on. Let's see what you can do to change it," he dared and nipped one of Draco's nipples before sidling down the hall to the washroom.

The blonde gave a small groan of disapproval and slunk after the brunette, shutting the bathroom door firmly, lacing his fingers in Harry's belt loop and tugging him backwards. "Sorry Potty. My turn." A rather harsh bite to the neck, soothed with his tongue, Draco turned and jerked Harry against the bathroom door, warm hands sliding over burning skin, tearing the shirt off of Harry at the seams. "Oops. Hope you don't like that shirt," he purred, nipping at Harry's shoulder.

"Just for the Potty thing-" Harry reached down and grasped Draco's cock; his clothes were gone.

Draco let out a strangled moan, rutting against Harry's hand, nails scraping down supple skin and toned abs. Fuck, no wonder Potter was the eye of the whole Wizarding World. How had he not noticed that Potter was ripped? Quidditch did him well, chasing suspects did him well.

Leaning down, Draco grasped his wand that had clunked to the floor upon their arrival in the bathroom, giving it a flick, the shower turned on, steam almost instantly filling the room as the blonde dropped his wand near the sink in favor of suckling against Harry's neck.

Harry let Draco keep him pinned to the door, head falling back against it to let the blonde do as he wished. His hands took a hold of his hips, slid down to stroke the curve of his arse, and trailed up his back. "Fuck," he muttered, "why is your skin so soft?" Like a column of velvet or some other fabric Harry couldn't think of at the moment. But then his tongue took a slick line along the curve of Draco's neck and it really didn't matter so much when he tasted so good.

"You should remember," Draco rolled his hips against Harry's, moaning at the delicious friction that sent like jolts of fire through his veins. Draco mentally blocked out the images that word brought, instead deciding to focus on getting his gorgeously handsome brunette into the shower.

"Thinking isn't high on my to-do list. Driving you mad absolutely is." Even though he was getting driven himself. To better tip the scales in his favor, he dropped down and took Draco's cock into his mouth, fingers digging into his thighs.

"Fuck, Potter." Draco hissed, fingers tangling deep in shaggy brown locks. "Surprised- you don't remember the amount of times we fought-" he paused, breathing starting to become hard as his vision started to swim. Fuck, Harry's mouth was almost perfectly made for sucking his cock as much as it was for snogging. "-that required a lot of contact at some points."

"Usually..." His head bobbed back, tongue slicking along the pulsing vein. "Clothes were being worn. And I was rather focused," his tongue flicked over the head, dipped teasingly into the slit, "on ignoring being attracted to see why I was attracted." And his mouth took him in again, lips encasing the crown and sucking lower.

Reaching down, Draco slid his hands through Harry's hair and tugged, dragging Harry upwards and forcing their lips together in a desperate kiss, tongue and teeth and pounding hearts. "In the shower. Now."

"I can get behind that." Breathless, Harry flipped him and dragged him towards the steaming spray. Once under, Harry had Draco pinned to the wall, the water heating already burning skin. He gripped the blonde's shoulders and attacked his mouth.

Arms looped around a deliciously muscled waist, pressing toned bodies flush together, Draco's heart pounding as he plundered Harry's mouth, his tongue and teeth nipping and licking, soothing the bites before leaning down and attacking his neck. The blonde's hands scraped down against sopping wet skin, red welts raising in their wake before gripping a firm, pert arse and pressing their erections together with a pleasure moan that rumbled low in his chest.

"Shite," Harry hissed. "Need-" A hand slid down, a finger circling his hole and then pressing in. "I need to be in you now."

Draco arched his back violently, head falling back against the shower wall, neck exposed to near-boiling hot water, his hips jerking. "F-Fuck, Harry!"

There wasn't enough time for preparation like this. Need burned through the brunette, coursing through him like fire. So it was a spell, wandless and wordless, born of desperation. And then Harry was hiking Draco up - "Legs around my waist now" - and dragging him back down, burying himself to the hilt.

Draco arched, body stretching, burning him as he melted against Harry. "Fuck, Harry- feels amazing." And it did. The stretch, the burn, the way Harry's body shook as if all he wanted to do was pound into the blonde and forget the world. Hot water scalded down Draco's back, his body shuddering. "Move."

Gripping his thighs, Harry did. It was more important than breathing, this drive, this need. So he stopped trying to catch his breath and slammed in, dragging the blonde into every thrust. Teeth sank into the mark on his neck, hard and unforgiving.

Draco melted against the blonde, the bite sending jolts of violent, clenching ecstasy up from his toes and down to his fingers. "F-Fuck..." Thrusting back against the blonde, Draco moaned wantonly, chanting the brunette's name, eyes clenched shut just as his fingers clenched onto broad, beautifully sculpted shoulders. "Harry!"

"Yes, Draco..." Gasping, Harry sucked hard on the bite and moved faster, tightly grasping the blonde's hips, fingers digging in bruises, short nails adding indents. "Merlin, you're incredible."

"Just..." the blonde panted, hands moving to lay against the cool shower wall, trying to connect a coherent thought. "Shut up and fuck me, Potter- I'm still..." He moaned loudly, head thudding back against the water-soaked wall as Harry turned his hips ever-so slightly and thrust. "Coherent."

"Barely," Harry panted and kept at the angle, dragging Draco harshly down. One hand left his hips to wrap around his cock and pumped in time with his thrusts.

Allowing his body to be plundered for a few moments, enjoying the deep, soul-sating feeling of being filled over and over by this gorgeous, gorgeous man- Draco placed his hand over Harry's removing it from his hard and aching cock before giving a hazy-eyed grin, pulling the other out of his body with a small whimper at the loss of heat and tugging him towards the shower door, leaning against the jamb lightly, arms looping around Harry's neck and drawing him closer for a moment. He pressed their lips together heatedly, tongue coming out to nip and lick at the brunette's delicious lower lip. "Fuck me Harry, harder."

"Bed, then." Harry bit his shoulder, panting.

"Hmm, trying to leave a permanent mark there, love?" He purred, tilting his head to the side as he pressed their heated erections together, eyes slipping closed with a satisfied moan.

"I can deal with the one on your neck." He bit into said mark, sucking on the raised skin with a happy hum. "Bed." He gripped Draco's arse. "Now." Squeezed.

"Yes, your highness," he moaned, slinking away with a satisfied purr, arse wiggling out of the shower.

Harry slapped off the water and quickly snuck out of the washroom, grabbing Draco's hand to drag him along.

Being forced down onto the cool, silk sheets had the pure-blood aristocrat shuddering. Having Harry Potter lay on top of him, rutting against him as if his damnable life depending on it had Draco moaning, and when Harry forcefully entered his body once more, filling Draco to the brim, Draco saw stars. "Harry-! Fuck!"

"You did say harder," the brunette panted and began an almost brutal pace, cock dragging unmercifully over his prostate with each snap of his hips. He'd been close before but fully intended to drive Draco wild and incoherent before he let go.

The brunette didn't have to wait long; soon he had Draco writhing on the bed, tears coming to his eyes as pleasure seem to brutally take over all his senses, his cock achingly hard. He moaned Harry's name with each violent thrust, head pressing into the pillows behind him, the pale green sheets making his skin look almost tanner, his muscles clenching beneath supple, smooth skin. "Harry!"

"Close," Harry panted. "Oh, fuck, so close..." His fingers curled around Draco's leaking shaft, the pad of his thumb rubbing firmly over the slit.

Sliding a hand around Harry's neck, he drew the other forward, resting their forehead's together and moaning, whimpering softly as his body slid smoothly across sweat soaked sheets, his toes curling, his stomach clenching. "Close... Oh, fuck, so close-"

"Then now," Harry ordered, crushing his lips to Draco's to muffle his outcry as his control snapped. He pounded his release into his lover, his brutal rhythm not letting up a bit.

Draco's body clenched like a vice around Harry, his body curling in to wrap perfectly around Harry's, keeping their lips together as he came with a shudder and a small whimper, a low moan rumbling in his chest.

Body quaking in the aftershocks, Harry quite simply collapsed atop Draco, face buried in his neck. He drew ragged breaths, absolutely exhausted.

Draco sagged against the silk sheets, eyes drifting open and closed as he tried to measure out his breathing, heart pounding, chest heaving. "Fuck Harry, I love you."

"Love you too." He let his eyes close, breath not any closer to evening out. "So damned much."

Pushing Harry over with arms that felt like jello, Draco pushed himself up to wrap an arm around his lover's chest, drawing the other male closer and pressing their bodies flushed together. "Mm, glad. Didn' even ask 'e on a date beforehand, now did you?"

"Mm... Took you to a coffee shop," he mumbled, arms twined loosely around Draco. He smiled, face resting comfortably close to his fiance's. "Wanna go on a just-us date?"

"Yes, except you didn't pay. So technically, not a date in my book." Draco blinked just as he was about to roll over. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. So far we've spent pretty much all our time fucking or worrying. I'd like to take you out, just us." Harry twirled a strand of blonde hair around his finger, lips curving. "How about it, Malfoy? Dinner or something on me."

"I think you've spent enough, thank you." The blonde waved a hand, his ring not glinting off anything in the darkness of the room, but the gesture was understood all the same. Turning over, Draco pressed their fronts together, tilting his head to the side and kissing Harry chastely. "I'd love to."

"I think I have just enough galleons in my vault to afford a meal with you. And I want to." He nestled his nose in the crook of Draco's neck, sighing contentedly. "The Prophet'll have a field day, wherever we go. You alright with that?"

He hummed contently for a moment. "I think I can work that to my advantage." He placed a kiss against Harry's sweaty skull, mumbling soft 'I love you's,' and sweet, sappy nothings. "Very Slytherin-ish, of course. Unless, of course, you run off with some Italian bloke and leave me in the dust. That would just turn all my plans into rubble, into dirt!"

"It would ruin my own, too. Besides, I find myself having an affinity for blonds with lovely silver eyes. I don't think there are any Italian blokes who match that description." He slung a lazy leg over Draco's, fingers lifting to his face to rest quietly on his cheek. "I love you. I'm keeping you."

"You're keeping me, Potter?" Draco nuzzled his face softly against dark brown locks. "And what if you get sick of me?" There was a pause, a hesitation in his words.

He looked up, meeting Draco's eyes. "I won't get sick of you. I'm not sure if you've realized, but once I get attached to people I stay attached. The mind-Healer told me it was a side-effect of neglect, that I crave attention and affection or some such rot. I like to think I just know who I can cling to."

With a small hum, Draco waved a hand, magic coursing through him, through his fingers, causing the blond to shudder against his lover as the duvet below them came up to land against their shoulders. "Cling to me all you want, Potter." He leaned down for another kiss, knowing he would never get tired of the deliciously sweet taste of those pliable lips, knowing that this man was his... This gorgeous, dastardly handsome, smart, wealthy, famous man was his. But damn did he have a fiery, romantic personality to match. Draco couldn't of done better if he tried.

"If I clung to you all I wanted, you'd be the one getting sick of me." Harry snuggled close though, and clung, arms wrapped tightly around the Slytherin.

"I'm not a teddy bear. But..." He kissed him again softly, arms looping around him. "I don't think I'd mind. Easier to keep my eyes on you."

"You're sexier than a teddy bear," Harry teased, eyes slipping shut.

"Go to sleep, Harry."

"Am," he mumbled. "Stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Draco's eyes slipped closed, his body pressing flush against the shorter male's. "You're stuck with me, Potter. Till death do us part."

Harry made a small noise of agreement before he was asleep, his hold loosening but not releasing. Never releasing.

"Love you, Harry... always have..." And Draco was asleep, body laying loosely against Harry's, their chests rising in falling almost in unison, their hands intertwined, rings clinging together. Things were beginning to look up.


	16. Turley Winesap & Toko

Chapter 16

_ Turley Winesap & Toko _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

With a roll and a small lurch, the bed beside Harry lifted, the sounds of warm, running water following a moment later.

Harry awoke slowly, sluggishly reaching out and finding the space beside him empty. He blinked a few times, sitting up and frowning at the space his lover was supposed to be. Yawning, he stretched, back arching, and slipped out of bed. He flicked his gaze towards the shower, was tempted to go in and join, but had something to do first.

He padded to the desk and tugged it open, nabbing a piece of parchment. He scrawled a quick message and folded it, tucking it into an envelope and sending it off to his miniature owlery on the top floor. One of the birds would know where to take it. And now that that was complete...

Smiling, Harry made his way to the washroom and, more specifically, the shower to join his lover.

Head tilted back to let hot, scalding water trickling down his chest and kneading his muscles. Jolting, Draco gasped, body shuddering as cold arms, muscular and chilled with cool bedroom air wrapped tightly around his waist. "Good morning, there."

"Good morning. Or afternoon, rather." It had hardly been noon when they'd tumbled into bed together. Harry's smile warmed as he nudged the blonde back a bit so he could get some of the spray.

Moving over to let the water hit his lover, Draco turned in his arms, silver eyes warmed to a molten mercury, lips pursed in a small grin. "Well, there was an amazing sight to wake up to this afternoon, so I don't really care what time it was."

"You could've woken me up, y'know. I wouldn't have minded." Harry nibbled on those curved lips, happy in his existence.

Draco leaned into the touch, eyes slipping closed as he pressed his lips lightly against his lovers, his fiance's, fingers coming to lightly rest against the shorter male's hips.

"Mm... I guess if you had woken me, I wouldn't have taken the time to send off the owl for our reservations, though." Harry grinned. "So I suppose I can forgive you."

Draco pulled away with a confused expression, his brow furrowed, lips pursed. "Reservations? For what, may I ask?" His arms tightened, looping around Harry's waist snugly.

"I did say I was taking you on a date, didn't I? It just so happens, I plan on treating you very nicely." He pressed closer, pressing nipping kisses into Draco's neck.

Draco let out a small, shuddering gasp, leaning into the touch just slightly, pulling Harry closer, chest to chest. "Well, you never gave me a specific date. But, I suppose I can fit you into my very busy schedule."

"I'm incredibly flattered," Harry teased.

"Oi!" There was a rap on the door following Ron's voice. "If the pair of you are done fucking for the morning, Hermione has some new books she wants us to look through."

Harry smiled, sliding a hand through Draco's slick hair. "We'll be there soon, mate."

"Good."

Draco's brow rested against Harry's shoulder, a wide smirk set against his kiss-red lips. "Thank you for the wake-up call Weasley. Can we get back to our 'morning fuck?'"

There was a groan and the door slamming shut before Harry laughed, brushing his lips against Draco's ear. "Morning fuck?"

Draco gave a small hum of pleasure, nuzzling contently against Harry's warm and wet neck, pulling the deliciously Quidditch toned body flush against his own. "I had to say something to get the Weasley out of my hair. Slytherins are possessive," he nipped lightly at Harry's chin, eyes warm in the bathroom light. "What can I say?"

Chuckling, Harry stroked his hands down Draco's back in an unmistakably possessive move. "Slytherins aren't the only possessive ones."

"I think we have discussed this already, Harry." Draco purred, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he leaned down, sealing their lips in a searing kiss.

Harry cupped Draco's arse, squeezing fondly as he returned the kiss.

Draco pulled away, twisting their bodies to give Harry a meager shove under the hot spray of water. "I don't think so, lover boy. You had your fun, and I have a five year old waiting for me."

"Well now you're just no fun." Harry grinned, running a hand through his own, damp hair. "But we'll have it your way. I'd like to get a look at those books Hermione's found."

Draco nodded, reaching behind the brunette to pull some soap towards him, emptying some shampoo onto his hand and lifting a hand to slowly run it through Harry's sopping wet locks. "I'd like to take a look at them as well, after I get Scorpius settled down for a nap later on."

"Yeah. Hugo usually gets settled around four, so he'll get one in too." Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Draco's hands.

Combing his fingers lightly over Harry's scalp, Draco pressed a kiss against his forehead. "Sounds good. We'll have about two hours to read up and I think I might have a discussion with Hermione."

"Mm? A discussion?"

"Yeah, tilt your head back." Draco pulled his hands from Harry's hair and wrapped them tightly around Harry's neck. "About things that I could do to help Scorpius as it seems to be something involving me that is affecting him. Just a quick chat."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Why do you think you're affecting him?"

Draco gave a minute shrug, reaching behind his lover once more to pull down some sort of conditioner, squirting a little onto his hands, eyes avoiding the grotesque black mark defacing his once unmarred skin. "I have a little feeling it might have to do with my deviling into the Dark Arts when we were teenagers." His hands returned to Harry's hair.

Harry brushed his fingertips over Draco's arm, frowning. "I don't know if I want you to be wrong or not..."

Leaning down, resting their foreheads together with closed eyes, Draco gave a small, petulant sigh, heart twisting despairingly. "If I'm right, I'm right. At least it means we know what is wrong with my son. If I'm wrong..." he paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts, to swallow past the ever-there lump in his throat. "Well, if I'm wrong, it just means that we have to start back at square one."

"That's why I'm not sure which I'd like more," Harry murmured, stepping back only to rinse the conditioner out and grab the shampoo for Draco. He poured a small amount into his palm before lathering it into the blonde, silky strands. "Whatever the answer, whatever has to be done, we will make Scorpius better."

Ducking his head down to allow Harry better access to his hair, Draco gave a small sigh, arms looping around the Gryffindor's waist, thumb running over his own ring absentmindedly. "I suppose... I just... Salazar. It's only been what? A week? How can something get so..." Perfect. "-much better in a week without something crashing and burning?"

"Because we spent seven years of our lives crashing and burning." Harry shrugged, tilting Draco's head back beneath the spray to rinse the shampoo out before going for the conditioner and working it in. "I'm not going to pretend we'll always agree on everything-"

"Because we won't."

He laughed. "No, but I love you. And I'm not letting that go, Draco."

With a roll of warm, silver eyes, Draco poked a finger lightly against Harry's stomach, shuddering at the firm muscles that were taut against his finger. "Yeah yeah, Potter. Now scrub up and finish your shower, you sap."

"I may be a sap, but I'm right." He grabbed the bottle of liquid soap and squirted some on Draco's chest, reaching out to rub it over his skin.

Draco groaned lightly, head thunking down against Harry's shoulder. "Just hurry it up, Potter. I can't be around Gryffindors for too long, or I might suddenly start having feelings."

"Trying to say you don't already have them?" His fingers rubbed lower and lower, cutting off to the sides at the last moment to soap his thighs.

With a small step, Draco leaned forward, pressing Harry to the side of the shower. "My feelings towards the rest of the world," he glanced approvingly up and down Harry's muscled torso and legs to look up and meet emerald-hued eyes. "And my feelings for you are two different subjects entirely, Potter."

"I am part of the rest of the world, shocking thought that may be." His hands slid around, caressed Draco's arse before sliding up his back.

Draco leaned up with a small, jerking moan to nip and lick lightly at Harry's ear, whispering heatedly. "You belong in one world right now, Potter. And that world belongs to me." Sliding his hands down to grab firmly at Harry's arse, he jerked the other closer, hot breath dusting over his neck as he ground his aching erection against his lover's thigh.

Harry bit his lip, head falling back. "Thought I'd already had my fun," he panted.

"You had yours, doesn't mean I've-" He panted, chest heaving as he rutted harshly against Harry's erection, moaning as the friction licked at his veins, burning him, consuming him. "-had mine." Draco slid his hands down quickly, jerking Harry's thighs up and around his waist, moaning wantonly as his length, achingly hard, slid between the crack of Harry's arse. "Fuck, Harry you feel- amazing."

"Bloody hell." Harry latched onto Draco's shoulders, legs tightening around his waist. Vaguely, he wondered if they'd ever manage an hour together without needing this. Because he did need it. He needed Draco. "Inside me now," he groaned, nipping Draco's bottom lip.

"Prep," Draco moaned, hands constantly moving to caress lengths of sun-kissed skin, tweak a nipple, graze a nail here and there. Harry was perfection in a deliciously handsome package, and Draco was feeling particularly greedy.

He gave a needy whine, hips bucking, length rutting against the blonde's body. It took a lot of effort to focus his energy on the preparation spell and he made an entirely different sound when his muscles relaxed and his entrance slicked. "Now," he repeated.

With a quick nod, and a shifting of Harry's body against his own, his grip tightening on the brunette's thighs, Draco moaned as he slid in Harry to the hilt, the heat, the muscles gripping him like a vice. "Fuck Harry- so perfect."

Harry cried out, head falling back. He felt so bloody full, but it was so good. He couldn't catch his breath, but it was so good. "Draco," he groaned.

"Harry-" He gave a quick jerk of his hips, body lurching at the tight heat that suctioned him back in. "O-Oh fuck, Harry!" With a quick tilt of his hips, Draco was pounding into the sweet, sweet body in front of him, groaning as his hips meant a round, pert ass.

The brunette's fingers dug into his shoulders, short nails leaving crescent marks in the skin. His eyes closed tightly, head falling forward to find Draco's lips with his own. He groaned into Draco's mouth, hips working as well as they could like this.

Panting harshly, Draco sealed their lips in a searing kiss, moaning as Harry clenched tightly around him, rocking their bodies together, the brunette's cock stuck between their sopping wet bodies, all clenching muscles and heated flesh.

"F-faster," Harry managed, nails raking down Draco's back unnoticed.

Hoping the shower door would hold up, Draco gave a quick nod, giving a pause to slowly slide out of the achingly tight vice grip of muscles Harry had locked around his cock before slamming back in, his pace back-breaking as he let his hips piston forward, moaning at the tight feeling of muscles and the heat of Harry's skin against his own and the scalding water over head.

Harry cried out at the thrusts, teeth sinking into Draco's neck as he tried to hold on to his sanity. There was absolutely nothing like this, this sheer abandonment of himself.

Hissing, a moan bubbling in his throat, Draco gave a particularly twisted thrust, teeth sinking down against Harry's shoulder at the violent vice grip around his aching shaft, causing the blonde Slytherin to see stars. "F-Fuck Harry- oh yes, so close!"

"Yes," Harry moaned, legs tightening around Draco's waist. It was only a few more thrusts before he was over the edge, muffling his outcry with the blonde's lips.

"Oh fuck! Harry!" Draco cried out, hips spasming as he devoured the brunette's lips, groaning at the tight grip of muscles around his cock and slicked feeling of his release as his body sagged against his lover's, chest heaving.

He was glad the wall was holding him up, or he would probably be sliding down to the shower floor in a heap. His body went limp but for the shivers of aftershock, and he rested his brow on Draco's shoulder.

"O-Oh bloody hell Harry," Draco panted quietly, voice sounding like a whisper against the rush of the still-hot shower spray. "I love you."

"I love you too," Harry murmured, lips curving slowly against his skin.

With a small smile, and a gentle peck on his lips, Draco set Harry's legs back down against the shower floor. A few moments of caressing, of holding each other and rocking to some unsung rhythm, and unheard tune, and just letting the two be, to relax in a moment of post-coital bliss had Draco and Harry shuffling quietly out of the shower, no words being spoken. The moment had drifted to something of quiet silence, pure relaxation in the hectic times as they dressed quickly with lingering touches and soft presses of lips before making their way downstairs.

A call of "Daddy!" broke their silence, and with a last, lingering, longing glance between the two, Draco and Harry laced their fingers and dropped down to greet a squealing, albeit exhausted Scorpius, the elder Malfoy pulling the wiggling blonde child into his arms with a faint laughter.

"Scorpius!"

-

Hermione lifted a brow at Draco's request but nodded when Harry gave her a worried look. "I could walk for a bit. I'm getting tired of sitting anyway."

With a small nod, Draco held out a hand to the witch, gently helping her up from the kitchen chair and turning to Harry. "We'll be back, disillusionment charms and all, soon."

Harry offered a smile. "Yeah."

Hermione walked out ahead of Draco after briefly entangling her fingers with Ron's. Teddy was under the table, reading a book and bored out of his mind now that the younger two were down for a nap. He perked up some when Hermione disappeared because maybe now Harry and Ron would take a break.

Draco gave Harry a quick peck on the lips before turning and walking towards the door, opening it for the pregnant healer and shutting it firmly behind them, casting a small disillusionment charm as he held out his arm for Hermione. "So, what new information did you discover, Granger?"

"Plenty, but I'm not sure what good it'll do... I don't quite know if any of the methods I found will be permanent without knowing what the contaminate is. I have no real way of knowing that for sure unless I run potentially harmful tests on the boy. I don't particularly want to hurt him. Hugo grew fond of him very quickly and even Ron likes him."

Draco paused for a moment as Hermione looped her arm through his, slowly leading her down the sidewalk, humming thoughtfully to himself. "Well, would you be able to run some of your tests if Harry were to be there with Scorpius? He seems to react positively to Harry so it's only logical..."

"Having Harry around won't tell me what the contaminate is. I need spells to be done on and around Scorpius. I also need him to be around certain magical objects. You'll need to take me through a normal day for him, too. Things you do, places you take him. I need to see what he's exposed to in order to begin ruling things out."

"That can be done. Would it be easier, first off, to let you go through his things when he is not in the room? Rule out things at point blank, and then begin slowly exposing him to items one at a time?" Draco turned a corner slowly, stopping at a crosswalk to allow Hermione to rest for a moment.

"I'd like you to show me his routine on a normal day. Or just write a list and I'll explore your home, if that's alright. If they aren't a magical object, they won't be the contaminate and since you'd been living as a Muggle, I can't imagine he's been exposed to too much magic."

"Yes, of course Granger, the moment we return." Draco turned their bodies, slowly walking across the street to the other crosswalk. "You're correct, it won't be much, but we can't rule anything out. I'll draw up a list immediately, but aside from that how are his vitals doing, and more importantly, how are you doing?" The chat was amicably, as if it was two slightly estranged friends reconnecting over tea instead of two estranged people having a civil conversation about a dying five year old. As the two slowly walked back to Grimmuald, Hermione recounted Draco on tales of her pregnancies, and the vitals she took of Scorpius this morning which were stable causing Draco to let out a small sigh of relief.

"Well Granger, I thank you for this talk and hope we can continue to hear you regale me about tales of, what was it? S.P.E.W?" With a chuckle, Draco held the door open, allowing Hermione to slowly shuffle her way inside as he slowly let his shoulders sag. A moment of fresh air allowed him to clear his head. Scorpius was doing better. That had to mean something to the blonde Slytherin, didn't it?

"Anytime. And it's Hermione, seeing how you've gotten yourself engaged to my best friend." She offered a hand and a smile. "I don't really think I need to tell you what'll happen if you hurt him."

Draco shuddered at the thought, slowly encompassing Hermione's hand in his own. "No, I think that is perfectly alright Hermione, I've heard enough from the kitchen between you and Ronald, I'm perfectly alright." He winced at the memories of Hugo, something about 'never stop eating' and 'Hogwarts', Draco didn't really get sleep that night.

She laughed, giving his hand a squeeze. "Good. Now go on upstairs and get ready for your date, will you? Harry'll be sent up in a few minutes."

"How did you-? No, you know what?" Draco approached the stairs with a flourish of coattails and a small smile. "I don't think that I want to know. Good-day Hermione, and see to it that my... fiance arrives on-time, will you?" He disappeared up the stairs, the clicking of a door Hermione's only signal that he was getting ready for his date.

-

Harry didn't go with a tie because they made him uncomfortable enough, but the buttons of his actually clean shirt were done up properly and he was wearing slacks rather than denims. Sacrifice made, in his opinion. And Hermione's little "why don't you two spend the night at your flat? Tomorrow the real work begins" was on his mind.

He met Draco at the bottom of the stairs, his casual robes replaced with something more suitable to the restaurant they were heading to and light enough to compensate for the season, and grinned. "Ready?"

Dressed a little more formally than his lover, Draco wore a crisp, dark blue button-up that he was told always accented his hair and the pallor of his skin, with a plain black tie and a pair of black slacks, robes forgotten in light of the weather. "As always, Golden Boy." Draco chuckled warmly.

"Good." He took a hold of Draco's tie and grinned. "This is handy," he decided, using it to drag Draco down for a kiss.

A small moan instantly escaped the blonde's lips, hands coming to grasp firmly at Harry's belt-loops, tugging him closer and pressing back firmly into the kiss. "That's why I wore it. Just to tempt you."

"I guess I'm too easily tempted, then." He grinned. "C'mon. We'll do a side-along apparition instead of floo." He called out to Hermione, who answered by ordering them to get out and have fun. "We've been dismissed, then."

With a lurch, a sickening twisting pull against his navel, Harry apparated him and Draco away with a flurry of hair and squealing laughter from a few certain children.

Harry looked around warily when they reappeared, rubbing his queasy stomach. He never had gotten used to apparition, no matter how often it was required in his job. Hell, he floo'd everyday and still couldn't stick the landing. He smoothed his hands down his robes, smiling at Draco and simply turned on his heel and knocked on the brick wall behind him. "You trust me, don't you?"

"Yes?" He paused after a cautious moment, brow furrowing as he gazed at the wall in front of them. "Harry what is the meaning of this-? Oh."

A single brick vanished and someone eyed the pair of them. "Nom?"

Harry smiled. "Potter. Deux."

"Oui. Un moment."

"You do like French food, don't you?" he asked as the wall vanished in an arched doorway.

The Maître d' bowed slightly. "Bonsoir, Monsieur Potter. Suivez moi, s'il vous plait."

Draco raised a finely arched eyebrow, turning to glance at his lover questioningly. "Of course I do, but Harry- how?"

"I've been here before. It's been... a while, but the food's great." He slipped his hands into Draco's, leading him on as the Maître d' strode away.

"Looks like you and me have more in common then we thought," the blonde's hand tightened slightly, a small smile egging at his lips. "This is lovely Harry." Now Draco was more then tempted to kiss the brunette, crowd be damned.

"It's one of the only places I can get same-day reservations without feeling like I'm screwing someone over," Harry admitted, smiling. "And I figured you'd like it."

The man paused by a table, lifted a hand and the chairs pulled out on their own, the single long-stemmed candle lighting. "Monsieur Potter, the English menu?"

"Please."

He nodded once, turned the menu over and the French scrawl became English. He laid two down as Harry and Draco took their seats. "Your serveur will be here shortly. Bon appétit."

Draco gave a small smile towards the man, muttering a small French 'thank you,' before gracefully sliding into his seats. "I must give you credit here, 'arry," Draco chuckled, a small French accent slipping over his tongue as he flipped the menu over, eyes a warm, molten silver against the flickering of the candle's flame.

He laughed, reaching out to lay his hand over Draco's on the table. "Well, I'm pretty sure you've been most everywhere else. I found this place... largely by accident."

"Accident?" Draco mumbled as his eyes drifted around to peruse the already pretty well-known menu. He glanced over the lip of the menu, setting it down in favor of linking their fingers and gazing at Harry over the candle light.

"Ron and I were running after someone who stole in here. We turned down this alley and he was just gone. But while we were searching the alleyway for any sign of him, he was chucked back out." He gave Draco's hand a squeeze, amused by the memory. "Successful capture."

Draco raised an eyebrow at the picture spinning around in his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "I can imagine. Bet Weasley was happy, wasn't he?" Draco leaned forward to rest his weight against his arm, his thumb moving slowly, languidly over the back of Harry's hand.

"'Course he was. We'd been chasing that bugger nearly a mile. Not fun when you've got wild curses flinging at you. The street we were on was completely Muggle besides, so it ended with calling Obliviators. They're not exactly fond of being dragged out of bed to clear a neighborhood."

The blonde shook his head with a small grin. "No, I can imagine not. Had a few nasty run-ins with them myself over the years. But, aside from that," he leaned back, hand slipping slightly out of Harry's grasp to the point of just their fingertips touching. "This was a marvelous choice, Potter. I'm shocked."

"Well, we had to question a few of the waiters and such to confirm that, yes, this was the guy they'd thrown out and all that. Ron and I hung around here for hours, waiting for the Obliviators to finish up, so they ended up bringing out food for us. Best bloody stuff I think I've ever had outside of actual France."

Draco rolled his eyes as he let his gaze drift around the rest of the room. High arching ceilings, gilded doorways, a glint of color on the walls that could be anywhere from burgundy to an antique fuchsia. It was fairly dim, lit only by candlelight. And while Draco knew very well that there were other diners and other tables in their section of this large room, it didn't feel that way. They could've been the only two people in the entire world, in spite of the muted instrumental music that flitted through the room. The music covered possible conversations, though, adding to this intimate appeal.

His lips curved. The idea of Harry Potter bringing him to such an obviously romantic and over-priced den was more than flattering; it was sweet. It was so far-removed from his usual comfort zone. "I somehow believe it," he murmured and was just a little more in love.

The candlelight danced almost wickedly in those emerald eyes as his grin returned. "Do you drink wine?"

He gave a firm nod, a small fleeting smile before lifting his gaze to meet Harry's, a shudder dancing over his pounding heart. Clearing his throat, the blonde tried to answer again. "Y-Yes, but only reds. Never took a pleasure in anything... fruity or light-bodied."

Harry laughed, lifted a hand. Almost immediately, a waitress was at their table. "Bonsoir, monsieurs. You are ready?" He glanced at the wine list, located the one he preferred quickly and showed her the label. She nodded, scrawling it quickly. "That is all for now?"

"Yeah."

"Then I will be back in just a few moments." She bowed her head and disappeared again.

Draco tried to glance at the menu, blonde, almost silvery strands of hair falling against his eyes. "Do I get to know what my fiance picked for a wine selection?" He chuckled lightly, the sound quiet in the already quiet room. "If he didn't pick something adequate, we might have to rethink this relationship."

Harry grinned. "Just trust me, love. Do you know what you're eating for when she gets back? I'm ruddy starving."

"I was thinking the Coq au Vin, which is simply divine." He hummed for a second, fiddling with the edge of his silver cuff-links. "What did you decide on, love?"

"Canard à l'Orange." He shrugged. "It's my favorite here."

The waitress appeared again, displayed the label for Harry's perusal. When he nodded, she popped the cork and poured a bit into his glass. He toasted Draco, clearly more amused by the formal proceedings than anything, before taking a sip. "Yeah. It's fine."

"Are you ready to order, monsieurs?"

Harry rattled off their orders, smiling. "Along with the entrée."

"Oui. Dessert ou salade?"

"We'll let you know."

"Oui." She was gone again and Harry tapped the ice bucket their wine was cooling in. It lifted from the ice and poured generous amounts in their glasses.

"I'm warning you now - the moment your glass is empty, the bottle refills it. So when you're done, turn your glass over."

As Harry finished filling their glasses and glanced over, Draco felt a genuinely wide smile push at his lips, revealing bright white teeth and tugging at his cheeks. His head was tilted, eyes dancing a warm, affectionate mercury against the waning candle light, head resting in a cupped palm. "I have been here before, love," the blonde chuckled lovingly.

"Well, damn." Harry leaned back in his chair, a little disappointed.

He leaned forward, hand resting upward against the table's dark, rich coloured cloth. "But don't worry your pretty little head, Golden Boy. It was years ago."

"Okay." The brunette laid his hand over Draco's, lacing their fingers. "That does make it a bit better."

Draco rolled his eyes, pleasant banter rolling past their lips as they waited for their food to arrive.

-

"Did you really say that to his face, Harry?" Draco's laughter was almost infectious at this point. "To Snape?"

"Of course I did. I never liked him at school and he never liked me, so I was never afraid to tell him how I felt."

"You crushed on the bloody Potions Master, Potter! My godfather!" Draco couldn't seem to rail in the small peels of laughter that escaped his rosy red lips, his wine glass sitting still almost-full, a few sips being taken here and there, but not enough to affect the blonde's coherency to the situation. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, his sodding fiance had crushed on the Potions Master of Hogwarts.

Harry only rolled his eyes, but his lips betrayed his amusement with their twitching. "It was complicated. I knew I shouldn't have said anything to you, you prat."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm fine-" Draco waved a hand dramatically, setting it over his eyes with a flourish. "It's just the picture of my fiance, the man I have slept with, have let take care of my child, wanking to thoughts of my bloody godfather are just too funny. This would have been gold in our Hogwarts day!"

"Which is why absolutely no one knew about it. And it was only through fifth year. During sixth, my obsession definitely changed. Besides that, Snape had two very painful flaws. The first, painfully and irreversibly straight. The second, even more depressing. Ask me again some other time." Harry smiled, toying with the stem of his glass. "Besides, my second obsession worked out much better."

"Oh?" He leaned forward, chin coming to rest comfortably in his hand, eyes racking over Harry slowly, a smouldering look as he teeth came out to toy lightly with his bottom lip. "And who would this second obsession be? Not someone I know, I hope. I might just have to... have a little chat with them."

"Ginny Weasley," he replied and nearly tumbled out of his chair at the expression that wrought from the blonde. "No," he said when he could speak again. "No. It was you, you git. In sixth year, I became absolutely obsessed with you."

Draco's wide grin fell to a small, warm smile. "I think I remember having this conversation before." He steadfastly refused to mention that that was the day Scorpius was hospitalized. "To be honest, I think being obsessed with me was kind of sweet. Not like it was just you though."

"Well, I was obsessed for all the wrong reasons. I was in a period of denial, I think." He met Draco's gaze, finding his hand and entwining their fingers. "And bugger whoever else was obsessed with you then. I have you now."

Lifting Harry's hand, he pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses to his knuckles. "And thank bloody Merlin for that, or else my son- our son," he corrected himself after a pregnant pause, meeting Harry's gaze with a simmering determination, "might not be here right now." His hand tightened slightly around Harry's.

"Have I mentioned how glad I am that I found the pair of you in a park?" He gave Draco's hands a squeeze. "But now you know about all my various crushes through school. Tell me yours."

He leaned back to gaze around the dark and ambient room. "Well, a few times yes. And my crushes? Ohohoh, I don't think you want to hear about my infatuations throughout our troubled years at Hogwarts, love."

"No, I do. They're people I can mentally gloat to."

"Or physically," Draco grumbled as he sat up, fingers tightening around the sun-kissed palm laid against his. "Well, where should I start? Zabini? Flint? The list is rather long and arduous. Zabini, Flint, even Granger at one confusing point in my life, and that one 7th year boy when we were in 4th year- Whatever his name was. You, obviously, and..." He hummed thoughtfully. "There was one more name... No, not Parkinson." He checked off a menial list in his head. "Oh! Theo? Nott? There was him too."

Harry was grateful the candlelight hid his sudden pallor. "You and Nott? Really?"

"Yeah," if Draco had noticed the slight shake to Harry's grip, he didn't mention it. "Fifth year, only the first two terms of the year. Heard him cheating on me with someone, so I decided to end it on the train ride to Winter break. Never figured out who the bloody bugger was either."

Nice to know that he'd been the same at Hogwarts as he was now. "And Zabini? I always thought he was gay, but I always thought Flint and Wood..." Harry shrugged. "I'm glad I have my crush list at an easy four."

"Oh," Draco leaned back, a small, almost sinister smirk pulling at his lips, egged on by the glow of the candlelight. "Flint and Wood were. Quidditch locker rooms have excellent walls, let me tell you."

"Godric." He laughed, running his fingers over the back of Draco's hand. "I feel like such a clueless, late bloomer."

Draco laughed lightly, lacing their fingers, grinning like a hopeless romantic at their rings. "Nah, us sneaky snakes just have a tendency to be a bit promiscuous, what with all the Dark Lord stuff and all. None of us figured we'd make it past sixth year at one point or another." Draco almost sighed in audible relief at the sight of their food approaching, took them bloody well long enough.

-

Pleasant touches and lingering glances, the two lovers enjoyed the warm, succulent food as they exchanged forks and tried each dish with a hum of pleasure. Draco had never really enjoyed himself as much on a date, no matter how quiet and reserved this one might be, as he had this one. Once the two were full, and their glasses pleasantly turned over, Harry had waved a hand with a small, playful smile and asked for the check.

Leaving more than enough galleons on the table, Harry rose and held out his hand to Draco. "How about I walk you to my flat?" he teased.

Draco raised a brow, standing with a flourish and lacing their fingers. "Oh Potter, you would do that for little old me? Such a charming knight in shining armour you are." Draco couldn't help the fleeting smirk that tugged at his lips, trying to hold back laughing at the almost... gay tone to his words. Bloody buggering hell, he sounded like Blaise. When he wasn't drunk.

"Little old you?" Harry laughed, leading him to the exit. "I'll have to remind you of that one day."

"Don't you dare, Potter. I'll hex your balls off before we even say 'I do.'"

Harry looked at him, a knowing smirk playing at his lips. "You wouldn't."

With a raised eyebrow, Draco tugged Harry closer, arm tucked securely around his gorgeous lover's waist, the door to the restaurant falling closed with a resounding thud behind them, basking them in a dark, red glow. "Want to bet, Potter? Try me."

"Even if you did, I know the counter. You wouldn't believe how many wives do that to their husbands. It should be a required course at Hogwarts - Ball Restoration 101." He turned his head, nipped at Draco's ear.

Draco's bark of laughter was warm as he drew Harry into a long awaited kiss, heart thudding against his chest. Harry's lips were warm and sweet, Draco tasting a little hint of orange and spice from the wine and whatever made up Harry. It was bloody fucking addictive. "Enough talk about balls please. I heard there was something about a flat? Maybe a bed?"

"A really big bed," Harry promised, latching onto Draco's hand and turning on his heel. The lurch of apparition led them right to Harry's door. He retrieved his wand to dash away the wards and realized with a start that they were already down. It wouldn't be the first time someone had broken into his flat. Damn it. "Stay here," he said quietly and very slowly opened the door. Those who broke in wanted to kill him more often than they wanted anything harmless.

The lights were on, so he shuffled in quietly, wand ready. A quick sweep of the living room showed its emptiness, as did a quick perusal of his kitchen. There were dishes in the sink. Harry lowered his wand a fraction, feeling a coldness settle in the pit of his stomach. Oh, no. Not now. Wasn't he in Azkaban?

"Harry," a voice mumbled softly, as if the word, the name it was, was sweet, sweet oxygen after being held under water for so long.

Shite. Harry spun quickly. "Theo? What are you...? When did you get out of Azkaban?"

The man slid off the edge of the counter, moving with commanding steps over to Harry. Theo Nott, dark-haired and sculpted thanks to Kingsley removing Dementors from the Wizarding prison. They no longer sucked the life out of its inhabitants, so Theo was every inch as attractive as he'd been the first time Harry had busted him for dragon egg smuggling. The tall Slytherin hooked a finger in the top of Harry's shirt, gaze skimming appreciatively. "What's all this?" he purred.

Shite, Harry thought again and stepped back. "You didn't answer me, Theo."

There was a small pout, Theo glancing at the brunette from under his lashes, eyes warm and what he thought was seductive. "Harry, love, I was released for being," he stepped forward, chest pressing surely against Harry's, covered by a simple black shirt, heat radiating between the two, such a stark contrast from Draco's chilled skin. Draco. Shite. "-good." The dark-haired male leaned down, nipping lightly at Harry's ear, fingers tightening against his shirt.

Harry took a much larger step back, glancing at the doorway over his shoulder. How was he going to explain this to Draco...? "I told you last time to stay away, Nott. One more bust and I was done with you. And then you get caught selling portkeys to Muggles."

"Oh Harry! But that was so long ago!"

"Two months-"

"Is not long, I know, but it is," Theo stepped forward again, causing Harry to take another step back. Shite, the door was closer to their view. "When I'm away from you. I've missed you so much, Harry." The Slytherin ran warm, sure fingers over Harry's cheek, a happy purr rumbling in his chest like some sort of animal.

"Damn it, Theo!" Harry jabbed him in the chest with his wand. "This is breaking and entering. I told you we were done this time."

"But Harry, I-"

"Harry? What is going on here-?" Draco had stepped into the room.

Harry looked between the two Slytherins, going a little pale. Shite.


	17. Transcendent Crab

Chapter 17

_ Transcendent Crab _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"Harry? Theo?"

"Harry! What the fuck is Malfoy doing here?"

Harry rubbed his forehead, muttering under his breath. "I told you, Theo. I told you I was done. I meant it."

"Harry, I-" Draco took a step forward, brow drawn in cautious confusion.

"But Harry! That was only two months ago," Theo wrapped an arm tightly around Harry's waist, muttering something about a perfect fit as he drew the brunette to his chest. "We can move past all that Harry, look to an amazing new future. Together."

Harry swore, pushing him back and stepping away. "For Merlin's sake, no! Not this bloody time, Nott." He lifted his left hand, rubbing at his temple and the headache that was forming there.

Dark brown eyes narrowed viciously. "What the fuck is that- that thing on your finger."

"What do you think it is?" Harry grumbled, closing his other hand over it protectively. He glanced at Draco. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he would be here."

Draco gave a cautious shrug, eyes narrowed, hand grasped firmly around his wand that was hidden up his sleeve. "Theo, what are you doing here? What happened to Azkaban?"

The dark-haired male smirked, turning around to face off against the shorter Slytherin. "Oh Draco, I didn't see you there. Well, I just came back to visit my lover. Azkaban was," he stepped forward, feet slowly stepping against the hard wood floor as he made a small, predatory circle around the ever-cautious blonde. "Horrifying without Harry by my side. He always makes the day brighter. I got out for being a good little Wizard, so," he stopped infront of the blonde, hands crossed firmly over his broad chest. "I figured I'd come and pay my lover a visit, rekindle our relationship, our love."

"For fuck's sake," Harry muttered. "You know I don't bloody love you, Nott. And there is nothing for you to rekindle. How in Godric's name did you even get through my wards?"

Theo rolled his eyes, back turning towards Draco as he slowly stalked up to Harry, leaning down, their lips just a breath away. "The wards know me Harry." He lifted a hand, caressing the smooth, supple skin of his love's cheek. "They want me in your life, obviously. I always told you wards were living, thinking things. They know you missed me. They wanted me home, with you. Like how we used to be. Remember? Warm, sunny Sunday mornings; coffee and breakfast in bed." The male's eyes lifted to meet beautiful eyes of shocked, tantalizing green. "Our sweet, sweet love making. Don't deny it, don't tell me you don't miss me, Harry." And with a final, pounding heart and whispered word, Theo leaned forward and sealed their lips together in a soft, passionate kiss.

Harry couldn't back up fast enough, practically jumping away. His held his wand up threateningly, eyes narrowed. "Enough," he spat. "I do not want you in my life. I warned you."

Theo leaned forward with a small, pleading pout against his full, red lips. "Oh Harry, you've warned me before." He leaned down to grip the others hand, lifting it to his own gaze. "And this silly engagement, this silly farce you've invented doesn't mean anything. It didn't that first time three years ago," he stood up a little taller. "Or that time in Italy," a little taller. "Or even two months ago when we kissed passionately. Right here. And you told me how amazing it was to have me in your arms again," he stood to his full height, drawing the wayward brunette into his arms. "Let it feel amazing again, Harry."

"I will hex you, Nott." Harry pressed a firm hand against his chest, shoving him back. "There's nothing silly about this engagement. Draco is my family now. You are a pain in the ass who needs to get the hell out."

"Harry! You can't be serious!" Nott's voice rose, hands coming to grasp Harry's arms. "This stupid marriage, this stupid family- You weren't suppose to have it with him!" The brunette's eyes were swimming, heart pounding. No! Fuck, no! He did not suck up to fucking Azkaban guards, walk for miles and miles and miles to trek down this damn apartment again and spend three fucking hours trying to get inside just to be bested by- by- by fucking Malfoy! "You were supposed to have it with me!"

" Incarcerous! Silencio!" The spells were cast in rapid succession, Theodore falling to the ground with a silently muted thud. Draco Malfoy sneer evident on his calm and collected face as he stalked up to the ex-Death Eater. But, inside, the blonde was fucking furious. "So Nott," he spat, not even glancing up to check if Harry was alright. He'd deal with him later. He'd stood by and watched like a good little wife, but now he was fucking pissed. "Got out of Azkaban did you? What'd you have to do?" The blonde leaned down, words being spat with poisonous venom as he leaned over Theo's chest, his wand hand coming to gently tap against the other Slytherin's reddened cheek, turning his head so their eyes could meet. "Suck a few cocks to get your way?"

Harry started to tell Draco to stop, but caught sight of the ring on his finger and just let it be. Nott didn't need any sort of encouragement. Letting Draco have his way would probably be better. Besides how dare he call this family stupid? "I never wanted to marry you, Nott. I told you that, too."

Draco nudged the dark-haired Slytherin with his knee as he stood up. "I told you to stay the fuck away from my family Nott. Especially," he foot came down, shoe and all to press harshly against Theo's face. "After what you did to Pansy? She was in tears of hours, and couldn't sleep well for weeks. It took me and Blaise ages to get her into her right mind again, and that was after we set the pieces of her fucking broken heart back together, and a few of her bones, you disgusting excuse for a fucking human being." With a violent jerk of his legs, and a sickening crack, Theo's head lay limp and unconscious, blood pooling against his lips before ascending down his neck, his nose shattered at an odd angle, a few pieces no doubt finding their way close to his eye. "You stay the fuck away from my family Theodore Nott."

Harry leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair, questions whirling in his mind. What in hell had he done to Pansy...? And... Fuck. His head hurt. "Draco...?"

"Are you alright Harry?" The blonde's voice was tight, his hands clenched tightly, nails biting into his skin, at his side.

"I'll be better when he's out of my flat," he mumbled, twisting his ring around his finger. He felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. "Are you?"

"When he's gone, we'll see. But for now, just..." Draco ran a hand through his hair, a sneer slowly falling over his lips. "I'll apparate back to Grimmauld and get Ronald, the wards should still accept me, yes?" He didn't bother waiting for a response as he stuck his wand into the small holster around his wrist. "After that, I just- I need some time. Alone." There was a sharp crack of apparation, and Draco was gone.

When Ron arrived a few moments later, he took one look at the state of affairs - bloodied Nott on the floor, Harry dropped into a chair with his face buried in his hands - and took care of the git with ease. "Harry... Why didn't you tell him about Nott?"

"Because why should someone in bloody Azkaban matter when I've more important things to think about?" Harry replied, tone miserable.

"Yeah..." Ron dropped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Good luck, mate."

-

"He's upstairs. Even Scorpius can't get in to see him," were the first muttered words to the Boy Who Lived as he apparated into Number Twelve Grimmauld Place a few moments after Auror's arrived to sweep Nott off back to Azkaban without a second glance at the two Aurors already occupying the room.

Harry sighed heavily. "Thanks, 'Mione... I'll go... see what I can do." He went up the stairs, tired. He wasn't even annoyed anymore.

"Unless you happen to be Pansy fucking Parkinson with her amazing hot chocolate laced with copious amounts of various alcohols... leave me the bloody fuck alone," was the immediate reply after a pregnant pause, Draco's voice drawling through the locked and warded door to Harry's en-suite bathroom.

"Not quite," Harry said, staring at the door. "Nott's... going right back to Azkaban."

"That's great." Was the only reply, a sloshing of water following before silence. Maddening silence.

Harry sighed. "For Godric's sake, Draco, what do you want from me?"

There was a pause and the sound of water draining and a quiet padding of sopping wet feet clacking against the tile floor, and another pause. Draco stood behind the door, a few feet away from the man he intended to marry.

"I wanted the truth. I've told you so many secrets about me these last two weeks, and I bring up Nott," he spat, "during dinner, and you just pass it off as if I said I was fucking Parkinson, as if it was normal! You could have told me, right then, or outside of the restaurant! But no!" There was a thud against the door, Draco had thrown one of his sopping wet towels against the wood. "I had to find out my fiance had a stalker of a boyfriend that escaped from Azkaban, and was there snogging him in his apartment!"

"He was in Azkaban! And I was done with him. It didn't... It didn't seem like it mattered, compared to everything else we're dealing with. He wasn't in my life. He's not in my life. You are, Draco."

"You still could of told me! Oh hey Draco, love, I should mention that I have a crazy psychotic ex who is stuck in Azkaban right now, but there is nothing to worry about, we're over! See? How hard could that have been?"

"Why would it have mattered? He was never exactly..." Harry sighed. "Will you come out so I can stop yelling through the door?"

"No," was the firm reply, Draco's heart pounding and twisting violently. This was all too quick! "You can talk to me through the door, that is perfectly fine."

"Draco..." Harry closed his eyes, sighing heavily. Bloody hell, what was going on? "He doesn't matter enough to me to have told you... He's just... a mistake."

"A mistake that showed up at your bloody front door and proceeded to snog you in front of your fiance."

"That was not snogging. I got away from him, didn't I?" Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't want that. I didn't know he'd be there."

There was a small thud, Draco's body falling back to lean against the sink, arms crossing over his dripping wet chest, hair leaking water into his eyes. "There is still the fact that you didn't tell me you and Nott had a past, Harry. I brought him up during dinner. You could said you had something going on, even if he was in Azkaban. It would of been better than finding that- that thing snogging my fiance."

"You mentioned him in the context of school... I never... He cheated on you; I figured that was all there was, and all it did was put another nail in his coffin. I didn't want to say that I had any sort of history with him. It was awkward enough that I knew; I didn't want to talk about him any more."

"It was probably you, Potter! Nott was probably fucking obsessed with you in fifth year! And you didn't feel the need to tell me? You didn't feel the need to drop some semblance of a hint that my fucking fiance had a past with my ex?"

"I was never with Nott in school! I would've told you then if it was. I barely knew him. I barely knew any of the Slytherins. For fuck's sake, I met him on a case. And he just... I don't know. He needed some help and..."

"And your stupid Golden-Boy-Everyone-Needs-To-Be-Helped sense kicked in? Bloody fuck Potter! That was my ex who was just snogging you not even an hour ago!"

"Stop calling it snogging! And what else do you want from me? I didn't ask him to bloody do anything! I kept trying to get him out!"

"I know you did Harry, I broke his fucking nose, or have you forgotten? But the point is, is that I wanted you to tell me! I wanted you to mention your past, just like I had! I've told you countless things, and yes you've told me some too, but that doesn't get rid of the fact that we have both had pasts with Nott, and you refused to tell me!"

"I didn't want you to think... I mean... Bloody hell, Draco, I was..." Harry bowed his head, feeling every inch in the fool. "I didn't want you to compare the situations," he mumbled.

"What "situation" Harry?" The blonde made air quotes with his fingers, even though he knew Harry couldn't see. "The fact that I'm, bloody hell I can't believe I'm going to say this, bloody fucking head-over-heels in love with you? The fact that I'm engaged to you? What situation? I fail to see similarities in the relationships, since none of us were every bloody engaged. Unless..."

"No," Harry said quickly. "I was never... No. Nothing ever went that far with Nott. But I mean... Finding him out of the blue, helping him out and forming a... a thing. I didn't want you think... And then, fuck, he made me stupid and I didn't want you to know about that either..."

"Harry..." The blonde's tone sounded deflated, defeated. "Since when have I? Since when- Oh bugger." There was the sound of a quiet padding of a feet, a pause and Draco opened the door, a plain white robe tied firmly around his waist, hair sagging and wet, dripping cool drops of water onto his cheeks. "Since when have I seemed to judge anymore, Harry? Since when have I seemed to care about the past as much as I care about the future?" His arms crossed firmly over his chest, eyes cool and distant, face impassive.

"If you mean that, why does it matter so much that I didn't tell you about Nott? I didn't want to drag all that to surface because it was behind me." Harry ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "I told him I was done, Draco, really. It was over and I didn't want to... I didn't want to think about it."

"Because Harry, your past affects our future. You can't honestly tell me, look me in the eyes and tell me, that not telling me about Nott was a smart idea, that it wouldn't of come back to bite you in the arse at some point or another after we were married." Draco's arms tightened around his chest, his sharp, silver eyes narrowing slightly.

"I..." He looked up, shoulders slumping. "No, I... I suppose it would've. I'm sorry." Harry looked down at his hands, twisted the ring on his finger. "He's just... not important enough for me to really think telling you mattered. Not compared to... to everything else."

Draco lifted a hand to rub at his face, ignoring the stinging behind his eyes, his wavering gaze. "Look Harry, l-love... I just... I need a few days. Maybe a few hours, who knows? But this is just something... that I... I need to think through this," his body shifted, leaning back into the bathroom, the door beginning to close. "You understand, don't you? He did so much to me, to Pans, and to see what just h-happened- well- I just- I need some time to sort out my thoughts."

Harry looked back up, eyes wide and hurt. "B-but..." Fear clawed at him. He couldn't have messed up that badly... had he? He tried so hard to live without regrets and here was one threatening to beat him senseless. He dropped his gaze, defenses kicking in. "Fine," he breathed.

Draco's hand itched to caress Harry's cheek, itched to just pull him in and forget none of this had ever happened. "I-I love you Harry, Merlin I do. But this is just too much to take in for one day. I need some time to just sort my thoughts out," a small, sardonic smirk pushed at his lips. "Maybe put some clothes on. I just need some time to figure this all out, figure out how my past is coming back with a vengeance to affect my future."

"Fine," he repeated, still not looking up. "Whatever you need." He turned to go and tackle the burgeoning fear in his own way - Bugger, why did he need Draco so desperately after only a few days?

The door to the bathroom closed firmly with a resounding click, Draco leaning back against it, eyes clenched shut, body shaking violently. F-Fuck.

-

"Papa?" A voice spoke quietly, a firm knock on Harry's study door.

Shite. He couldn't ignore the boy... Harry'd been filing overdue paperwork, anything to get his mind off Draco, and here comes his little clone. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back the additional fears thinking about Scorpius brought along. "Yeah, Scorp... You can come in."

"Pap- Papa!" The little boy gasped after the creak of the office door signaling his entrance, his little feet padding into the room. Scorpius rushed forward, arms shooting out to grab at the chair Harry was sitting on, making a few huffing attempts to jump up, to comfort his teary-eyed papa. "Papa!" He jumped again, "Papa! Wha's wrong?" The small bubble (Hermione must of found a way to make it smaller, stick to his skin so he wasn't knocking things over) molding around Harry as Scorpius clambered up the chair and into Harry's lap.

"I..." Harry sighed, helping the boy up and hugging him close. "Nothing's wrong," he lied. "I'm okay."

Scorpius clung desperately, tightly to Harry's neck, tears stinging against his eyes, his nose sniffling instantly. "N-No yous not! D-Daddy hasn't come downs all day, and-and- y-you are all quiets and-and-!"

"Oh, Scorp... Hey, don't worry." Harry rubbed the boy's back gently, trying to soothe. "It's just grown-up things, okay? Everything'll be alright. Your daddy's just... he's a little upset with me right now."

"B-But-" the little boy sniffled against the collar of Harry's shirt, arms tugging tightly around Harry's neck. "You and daddy is supposed to be happy!" Another sniffle and tears slowly began to leak against Harry's shirt. "Y-You- You s-shouldnts be fighti'g!"

"Don't cry, kiddo. It'll be okay. Sometimes people fight. That doesn't mean I don't love your daddy still." Harry pressed his face in the boy's hair, rocking gently. "It's okay."

"Y-You has to m-make it up to him papa," Scorpius fingers tightened ever-so slightly against his already tight grip on Harry's shirt. "Y-You and him has to live happy, like those Muggly fairytales."

"Scorpius, I don't think there's anything I can do. He wants some time to think, and I just have to let him have it." Harry cupped the child's chin in his hand, tilting his head back. "It'll be fine, though. When he's done, we'll talk. And everything'll be okay."

Scorpius lifted a small hand to rub viciously at his watering ice-blue eyes, another sniffle accompanying the motion. "Y-You still love daddy?"

"I love him very, very much." He ruffled Scorpius's hair, smiling slightly. "I love you too."

Scorpius gave a sniffling nod, burrowing back against Harry's chest. "Papa and daddy needs to get better," a yawn pushed at his lips, the crying tiring out his little body far more then it should have. "My bir'hday is soon!'

"Yeah, I remember." Draco had told him at dinner before... Harry sighed quietly, getting to his feet, the boy cradled to his chest. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you laid down."

"Daddy?" He questioned tiredly, another yawn pushing his tear-stained cheeks up.

"Why don't we go see him after you get some sleep?"

"No," the child pouted, shaking his head in disagreement for the first time since his bath with Hermione.

Harry smiled slightly. "You want to see him now?"

Scorpius nodded adamantly against Harry's neck, burrowing his face against the warm neck and yawning. "Yes! Makes up."

"Scorp..." Harry sighed. "Okay. You win. Let's see if he'll talk to me." He carried the boy out and down the hall, hesitating outside of his own bedroom. Bugger.

"Knock papa," Scorpius grumbled, eyes drifting close as he snuggled further against his papa's chest. "Knock."

"Who said you were allowed to get so smart?" Harry murmured and finally lifted his hand to knock, embarrassed that the five year old had caught him.

There was a small giggle against his neck, Scorpius glancing from under his lashes at the door that stood like an impervious castle in front of the two.

Silence was their answer.

Harry sighed, knocking again. "Draco? Open the door, will you? Please."

Again, silence met their ears, Scorpius rustling nervously, head lifting to peak at the door behind drooping eyelids. "D-Daddy? Papa, where's daddy?"

Harry knew no one was keyed into the Grimmauld Place wards; Nott didn't even know he had the place. "Shh." He retrieved his wand and unlocked the door, slowly opening it, and blew out a quiet sigh of relief. Draco was in bed, burrowed beneath the covers and fast asleep. "We don't want to wake him up," he said quietly.

Scorpius fidget, hands out stretched, eyes wide with a sudden awareness. "Daddy, daddy, daddy," he continually chanted, one arm tightly around his papa's neck, the other reaching for his blonde haired father.

"Okay, Scorp, okay." Harry carried the boy to the bed, settling him down on it.

The little boy's hand lifted instantly, tugging at the hem of Harry's shirt with a pleading yawn. "Sleep papa, sleep."

"I want to, Scorpius, but I can't. You sleep. Come and get me later."

"No!"

A groan hushed quietly escaped Draco's lips, the blonde's eyes cracking up with the first signs of waking up. "Scorp'us? Everythin' alright?"

Harry winced, trying to scoot back and retreat. He wasn't quite ready to face Draco.

"Daddy and Papa," the blonde yawned, maneuvering himself under the sheets, eyes drifting closed. "-need to make better." The little child's hand still clung desperately to Harry's shirt.

"Scorpius," Harry murmured, reaching down to pry the boy's fingers from his clothes.

"Just stay, Potter... Harry." Draco looped an arm tightly around Scorpius's extremely tiny waist, pulling the boy firmly against his chest, dragging Harry further onto the bed.

The last thing he wanted was to argue about that, so Harry positioned himself more comfortably on the bed, resting a hand on Scorpius's back. "Alright."

Draco's eyes slipped close once more, his brain addled with sleep as he drifted back off to unconsciousness.

"Daddy go night-night," Scorpius yawned, wiggling his body so his head was pressed firmly against Harry's side. "Papa go nigh'-night too."

"You too, Scorp," Harry murmured, letting his eyes close.

To say waking up in the morning would be a pleasant experience had been sorely misled.

-

The moment Harry had awoken the next morning, Draco Malfoy promptly rolled over and shoved him back, standing curtly and entering the bathroom, the en-suite door closing firmly in his wake. Scorpius lay snuggled against Harry's chest, the boy deeply sleeping.

Harry blinked, confused for a moment before remembering. And then he sighed heavily, eyes closing again. Bloody hell. What was he supposed to do now?

The sound of running water alerted the brunette Auror to the fact Draco was most likely showering. He had about thirty minutes to decide what to do.

"Papa, show'r." Scorpius grumbled tiredly, rolling over, little fingers clutched tightly against Harry's shirt.

He sat up carefully, smiling slightly as he adjusted Scorpius below the covers. "You keep on sleeping," he whispered.

Scorpius's answering nod was barely a movement, his eyes drifting closed once more. His shower could wait.

Harry straightened, running a hand through his hair and casting a furtive glance to the bathroom door. Obviously Draco was still upset with him, so... Damn. He found a change of clothes and quickly walked out to take his shower elsewhere. He'd much rather just not be there when Draco returned.

-

Walking out of the shower quietly, the bathroom a few moments later, Draco cast away the towel he had dried his hair with, glancing at the bed with a furrowed brow.

"Scorpius? What are you-" He took a few steps over, pulling away the covers.

"O-Oh Scorpius-" Draco carted a hand through his son's hair, heart twisting violently. The little blonde's cheeks were red, his nose constantly sniffling as he curled up into an even smaller ball, as if that would warm him up from his constant shivering. The door behind the two opened almost immediately.

"Harry! Go get Hermione."

"Actually, it is me. Harry's downstairs." Hermione walked further into the room, sighing. "I was worried about this... Considering the state Harry's in, he'd be a negative influence on Scorpius right now." She flicked her gaze Draco's way, clearly irritated. "Which can be discussed later." She laid a hand over the boy's brow, frowning, before lifting her wand and waving it over him for her diagnostics.

Draco stood back quickly, fidgeting for a few moments before turning and stalking out of the room, anger beginning to ebb at his veins like a simmering potion, which for some stupid reason reminded him to check his potion stores at his flat- Why the fuck did that matter? The blonde's magic snapped around inside his body. Fucking Theodore Nott had to go and mess everything up, didn't he? Draco was furious as he paced up and down the hallway outside Harry's bedroom.

Hermione was out a few minutes later, quietly closing the door behind her. "I gave him something that'll put him out," she explained, "and hopefully help his body fight off the infection that caused his fever."

"Hermione, look-" Draco's hands clenched tightly at his side, eyes swimming with a fierce determination. "I have a theory, about why Scorpius is getting sick."

"Well, this time it was clearly Harry." Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, why the pair of you are acting like children, I have no idea."

Downstairs, quietly shuffling around in the kitchen, Ron, Hugo, Teddy and Harry sat comfortably around the kitchen table, the two adults nursing their cuppas with sure hands while Hugo and Teddy ate their food animatedly.

"'Arry, where is Dra'o?" Hugo grumbled as he took a rather large bite out of his cheese sandwich.

Harry managed not to wince, gazing down into his cup. "He's upstairs, Hu."

Teddy frowned, looking at his godfather curiously. "But how come? And where's Scorpius at?"

"He's asleep." Harry looked up, forcing a smile. Godric, he hoped Hermione had been wrong. "Don't worry about them."

"Mate, look..." Ron gave a sigh, pushing his cuppa away with a firm shove, a hand coming to tug at his hair. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this whole..." he waved a hand as if to encompass the whole situation in one simple motion. "Thing."

Harry leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Yeah... Parlor? We'll just let the boys eat."

Ron nodded, standing to follow Harry out of the room as they made their way down the hallway and to the parlor, the two taking their seats quietly. "Look, mate," Ron spoke up after an awkward moment, a sigh breezing past his lips once more. "I'm really trying to see the whole of this thing, I am. But, Malfoy, really? Engagement? Taking on a dyin-" he caught himself, noticing the way Harry's shoulders tensed just slightly. "What's goin' on mate?"

"Ron... I know it isn't the best situation on earth, but it's how it is. Or how it might be." Harry looked at his ring, sighing. "Everything got... complicated last night. More complicated."

"Well yeah, mate. I can understand that. Your ex decided to come knocking on your front door with your fiance a few feet behind you? How can it not? But, Harry, I still don't understand-" He leaned forward, elbows coming to rest against his knees that were covered in a plain pair of black slacks. "Why didn't you just tell Malfoy about Nott? He obviously knew about the bloody bugger from their school days."

"Ron you know what's between me and Nott. Would you want to share half that ridiculousness with your own fiance? Especially when there are other things to think about. I mean... Bloody hell, what's happening with Scorpius right now is a million times more important than that git. It didn't cross my mind before yesterday and when I did think about it..." Harry shook his head. "It just didn't seem to matter."

"You're over thinking this again, mate." Ron grumbled, rolling his eyes. "You always do this with people you care about. Me, Mione, even George and Bill. It's the fact that you had something with Nott, slightly..." his cheeks flushed minutely. "Disturbing details or not. You didn't have to tell him all the damn details, you just needed to at least tell him that there was something of a past with the bloody idiot."

"I understand that, Ron! But... I mean... Bugger. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to fix this. And I really need to. It's... it's the weirdest damn thing, loving someone this much."

He chuckled lightly, nodding his head. "Yeah, trust me. I had enough trouble with 'Mione. But Malfoy? Damn mate, you sure know how to pick 'em." Leaning back against his chair, Ron tugged a hand through his hair, then at the colour of his shirt. "Look mate, I can't go and tell you how to fix this, or that you were a huge idiot in not telling Malfoy about, well, Nott. But, I can tell you that you love him, and I don't know why, but you're over thinking how to fix this." Tilting his head, Ron asked the question that had been budding against his lips. "Mind telling me what the hell Malfoy is doing anyway? That's got you so buggered?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Well you obviously got him pissed, what is he doin' with that anger? Maybe I can give you some tips from me and Mione."

"He's just... He just wants me to give him space to think." Harry's smile was small and self-deprecating. "You know how well I deal with sitting back and waiting. It's got me panicking..."

"Harry," Ron chuckled, exasperated, shaking his head good-humoured. "Just go get what you want. Go and grab it. You always do that better, and it's always turned out in your favor, hasn't it?"

"Because my relationship track record really stands up to that theory," Harry pointed out, glancing down at his ring. It had, he realized, been working so far with Draco. "When Hermione gets back down, I will."

-

"It's me Hermione, it has to be me! I am the only logical explanation." Draco's forearm was bared, the grotesque and scarred remains of his Dark Mark standing out in shocking contrast to the paleness of his skin. "It has to have something to due with the fact that my Mark hasn't disappeared yet!"

Hermione frowned at the remnants of the brand, shaking her head after a moment. "That... It's not there for anyone else that we know of. Were you the only one of your generation to get it? Did Crabbe and Goyle? Or anyone?"

Draco shook his head quickly, eyes swimming with information, the silver, almost ice-blue in the waning hallway light, sharp with determination. "Just me. Just me. And I am still the only one to have it. Everyone else's burnt off, only leaving scars. Mine," he jerked his arm out further, his nail biting into his forearm, his hands shaking. "Mine is the only one left, the tail is just burnt off. It has to be releasing something, anything! There has to be a reason it is still here, a reason Scorpius got worse only after my divorce. We were the only two in the house! There was no other magic to filter in with mine." He shook his arm once more.

"Well, first order of business is for you to calm down. If your magic spikes too much, it could be dangerous if you're right. When your wand was taken away, was his condition stable?"

Draco paused, body sagging violently has he tried to calm his shaking nerves. His eyes slipped closed, hands unclenched from his sides, his breathing long, slow and deep. "Ok... Ok. It began waning almost the day after my magic was bound. It was a dramatic change from just being constantly sick. It practically nose-dived into the ground like a way-ward Quidditch broom."

"Alright. That is fairly indicative of you being the contaminate..." Hermione sighed. "It's never good when it's the parent..." She reached out and grasped his arm, studying the Dark Mark with narrowed eyes. "I have absolutely no idea how to get rid of this," she mused. "It's likely that it's absolutely impossible to get rid of, in which case we need to find out a way for Harry's magic to combat it thoroughly or, well... Worst case scenario."

The blonde's blood ran cold. "D-Don't you d-dare tell me worse fucking case scenario, Gra-Hermione. We will fucking figure this out. I refuse, do you hear me? Refuse to fucking lose my son to this goddamn war that should of ended a decade ago!" He ripped his arm out of her grasp.

"...Draco? Aunt Mione?" Teddy spoke up quietly from behind the two.

"Oh. Teddy." Hermione looked at him. "What are you doing up here?"

"Uncle Harry said Scorpius and cousin Draco were up here. Is Scorpius sick again?"

"Oh, Teddy..." Draco knelt down after a quick, momentary glance up at the calm and collected healer, choosing to ignore his own frazzled appearance. "Just... well, you see-" He gave a sigh, elbows resting harshly against his knees. "Yes, Teddy. Yes, Scorpius is sick again."

Teddy pouted, looking up at Hermione. "You have to fix him, Aunt 'Mione. Hugo thinks so too."

"I'm working on it, Teddy. Really."

"And Uncle Harry's upset." He turned back to Draco, poking his chest and putting on his best serious grown-up expression. "You have to fix that, right? Since you're getting married and stuff."

Draco winced, a hand coming to rub at his violently throbbing flesh. Ow. "Of course, Teddy. We are just at a... disagreement right now. But, it will all be resolved," he lifted a hand, waving it through the air.

"Good." Teddy watched Draco's arm move, frowning. He'd noticed the weird smell before, but it was stronger now that his sleeve was up. And the blood he'd drawn had mixed with it and was making him a little queasy. "Aunt 'Mione needs to make your arm better too. It smells like a really bad floo connection. Maybe that's what's making Scorp sick. Go make Scorp better first, though. Hu and I are bored." And then, with a huff, the boy spun around and trotted off, rubbing his nose to get rid of the smell.

Draco's brow furrowed, eyes flitting down to glance at his slightly bleeding arm. "A bad...?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "That's interesting. And seems to confirm the theory. I'll have to talk to Teddy about exactly what he smells. Now, Draco, do what he said. Fix this thing between you and Harry, won't you? I understand that Harry's kept certain... things from you, but surely Scorpius's health is more important."

"I'm going... I'm going..." Draco murmured with a sigh. He truly didn't need to hear anymore accusations, anymore suggestions that him and Harry needed to 'make-up.' "Just... Get Scorpius better, Hermione." Turning and coming to his full height, Draco stalked down the stairs.

The moment Harry saw it was Draco and not Hermione, he leapt to his feet. "Bloody hell, is it bad? I know you're mad at me, but just... Is Scorpius alright?"

Draco stalked forward till they stood a few feet apart, ignoring the ruffled red-head sitting a few feet away. Fingers lifted, grabbing at Harry's shirt and jerking him forward. "Bloody fuck Potter, does your so-called family know how to annoy people." He smashed their lips together violently, sharp, silver-hued eyes clenched shut.

Harry returned the kiss immediately, ignoring Ron's annoyed groan, and wrapped his arms tightly around Draco to make sure he couldn't step back.

"He's fine," Draco gasped, fingers tangling in impossible locks of hair, heart thundering loudly in his chest as he nipped and sucked at Harry's lips like he hadn't just woken up beside the man this morning, no matter how pissed off he was. "A small fever- Hermi- Mione thinks- Found contaminate-" A moan escaped his lips, low and building in his chest as his tongue came out to dance with the other's. Bloody fuck, had it only been just yesterday that he had been kissing this deliciously gorgeous man?

"Fuck, Draco." Harry's fingers bunched in his shirt, body pressing as close as it could to his lover's. So many of his fears were shot to pieced between the kiss and the news. "Never would've... mm. Forgiven myself if- Merlin, Draco." He moaned, losing himself in the kiss until he couldn't breathe. Even then he didn't break away, clinging to Draco and pressing his face in the other man's neck while he gulped for air. "I'm sorry."

His fingers tightened near painfully around Harry's hair, his tone sharp like the slice of a knife. "If you ever," he tugged at Harry's hair, tilting the others head to the side, allowing his teeth and lips to graze against the supple, flush skin. "Decide to not tell me about another ex," another sharp tug. "In Azkaban, or not," and another. "You will regret it, and this marriage will be over before it can even start, do you understand me?" He ground his hips against Harry's, his erection straining and achingly hard between his legs.

On the couch, Ron snorted. "That's going to be a weird conversation."

"Shut up, Ron," Harry muttered and nipped at Draco's earlobe. "I'll tell you anything, Draco. I don't want to lose you and I don't want this to happen again."

"Bloody fucking Merlin, Harry. Neither do I." And with that small, mumbled message, Draco sank his teeth down against the skin of Harry's neck, marking him just as the other had with the still bruised-over mark against his own neck.

The brunette cried out, clutching Draco's shoulders when his knees turned to jello. "Upstairs," he gasped, whimpering. "Draco...!"

Lifting his head, licking the small droplets of blood off his kiss-red lips, Draco smirked vindictively. "I don't think so, Potter," he purred lightly against the brunette Auror's ear, a hand crawling slowly down his lover's body to fiddle with his belt. "You're going to have to suffer."

With a groan, Harry latched onto Draco's lips again, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. "Prat," he accused. "Gorgeous bloody prat."

Draco gave a small, dark, chuckling moan. "Good insult there Potter," he pressed their erections together firmly, eyes rolling back in his head with a moan. "But you'll have to do better than that now." And with one final, harsh nip to his lover's neck, Draco turned, gave a suave wave to the flushed Weasley sitting, fidgeting in his chair, and strutted out of the room.

"Well... At least I was right about going out and grabbing it," Ron mused. Harry only grinned at him before bolting after Draco. The issue wasn't completely solved, but they could deal with it after.


	18. Sandow

Chapter 18

_Sandow_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"Papa! Daddy! Look! S'Perry!" Scorpius giggled happily, swishing the unicorn around as he chewed joyfully on his apple pancakes. Harry and Draco sat close together, small kisses and fervent glances passing between them, a far cry from flat-out ignoring one another and warding their doors to keep them out.

"Haha, yes Scorpius, it's Perry. Now, who do you thank for fixing him up?" Draco smiled softly, reaching over to ruffle his son's hair with a small sense of adoration.

"Papa! Papa! Sev'rus was meanie!"

"Was mean, Scorpius." Draco corrected calmly.

Harry smiled. "I know he was. Named him well," he added quietly, flicking an amused glance Draco's way.

Draco rolled his eyes as Scorpius glanced up in confusion. "I wouldn't be surprised if you used his name eventually. Maybe even Dumbledore's. What was his name? Albus?" Draco leaned back against the kitchen chair, stealing a few pieces of pancakes from Scorpius's plate, the child whining with a small sense of glee at seeing his parent's happy once more.

"Everyone knows Dumbledore's name was Albus, Draco." He shrugged, lifting his cup and gazing into it for a moment. He'd decided years ago what he'd name his sons and, well, Draco was dead-on. That wasn't going to happen, though, which was another thing he'd come to terms with years ago. And he definitely wasn't going to get more cats to make up for it.

"I chose to... forget those particular memories, so I apologize for forgetting." And he truly did. Draco knew, no matter how hard he'd try to forget sans Obliviating himself, the memory of Harry's favorite Headmaster was a sore spot.

"Scorpius, try and remain clean for at least a quarter of an hour after your bath!" Draco chuckled quickly, leaning forward and wiping some syrup off the boy's cheek, his fingers brushing through soft blonde locks, the small tingling of a cleansing charm washing over the pads of his fingers.

"He's a five year old boy, Draco. I don't think staying clean's possible."

The elder blonde rolled his eyes, standing and walking around the table to make himself another cup of early morning tea. "It wasn't as much of an impossibility before you dumped yourself ever-so gracefully into our lives, Potter." No matter the years of rivalry, Draco just couldn't seem to put a sneer into his words.

"It's not my fault that I'm more fun than you," Harry teased, grinning at Scorpius.

Draco raised an eyebrow, glancing furtively over his shoulder. "Oh? And who is it you're marrying here? I don't think someone as famous as the Golden Boy of Gryffindor would marry someone boring, now do you?"

Scorpius giggled, lifting his hands to cover his mouth, wide, silver eyes, almost ice-blue in the early morning sunlight dancing between his two parents with childish glee.

"Fame doesn't mean much, I can promise you that." He reached out, smeared a little bit of syrup on the tip of Scorp's nose.

The boy's nose instantly crinkled, his eyes narrowing as his pink little tongue came out to try and lick the sticky syrup off his small button nose. "'Apa!" He giggled.

Draco shook his head, a small, affectionate smile on his lips as he finished his tea, adding a bit of sugar and walking back to the table, leaning down to caress a hand through Harry's hair and place a soft kiss against his temple. "I get that; I was just joking," Draco whispered softly, eyes slipping closed as he rested a cheek atop Harry's head.

Harry found Draco's hand, gave it a squeeze. "I know." He rubbed his thumb over the ring on his lover's hand. "I love you... even though you're boring."

Draco raised an eyebrow, nipping lightly at Harry's ear. "If I'm so boring, you don't mind not having sex whenever you please then? Or waking up with me in your arms? That is perfectly understandable if you find me so... boring." The whispers were low, husky in Harry's ear as Scorpius absorbed himself in his food once more, feeding little pieces to the plush unicorn, the syrup instantly clearing from it's snout with a small cleansing charm from the bubble around the child.

"That part's not boring," Harry decided and managed to pull Draco into his lap to nuzzle into his neck.

Draco placed his mug on the table after taking a quick sip, leaning back to rest against his lover's chest. "I happen to think so too." Scorpius giggled.

"Silly daddy, silly papa." Draco's heart warmed at the words.

"Silly son," Harry teased, holding his fiance close.

Titling his head, Draco's lips met Harry's in a soft kiss before a small clatter had them pulling apart, Draco's chuckles rumbling in his chest. "Good morning, Hugo."

"Why's everybody always kissin'?" the boy demanded, clambering into a chair besides Scorpius. "Hi."

Scorpius waved, chewing contently on a piece of pancake.

"Sleep well?" Draco stood swiftly, untangling himself from Harry's limbs with a soft kiss and a chuckle at the "ew!" of a reaction from the red-headed child. "What would you like for breakfast, Hugo?"

He eyed Scorpius's plate curiously. Fruit with pancakes? He always had chocolate chips. But maybe they weren't that bad. "Those," he decided and didn't see Harry's lifted brows.

After a moment, Draco answered with a quick "Alright then," a proceeded to grab a few apples from a rather large sack of them that had mysteriously appeared this morning after Harry and Draco had made up, Scorpius's dour mood lifting instantly. "Almost done eating Scorpius? Hermione wants to do a few more checkups on you, then you can play with the boys once Teddy wakes up."

"Auntie Hermi-ninny!" The boy giggled, quickly finishing off his plate of pancakes with a happy glee, Perry falling to the wayside for a moment.

"Mum and dad were kissin' too." Hugo's expression was less than pleased. "It's gross. Married people always kiss," he informed the boy at his side. Scorpius giggled with a nod as his plate was swept away to be cleaned.

"Just married people?" Harry swept Hugo out of his chair, tickling the boy and planting smacking kisses over his face.

"Uncle Harry!" he squealed, frantically trying to get away.

Scorpius cheered, clapping and wiggling, bouncing up and down in his seat as Draco looked on with poorly masked adoration. This was his family now, huh? He could get used to this, Merlin could he.

"Papa play! P'ay!"

Walking up behind the boy, Draco swept him out of his chair, laughing as his son squealed and held on tight to his neck. "Oh, you want to play do you?"

A speeding Teddy barrelled into the kitchen, nearly toppling Harry when he careened into his godfather, grinning widely. Hugo managed to wriggle away and dove beneath the table to hide. "Hey!"

"Uh-oh..." Teddy laughed, dropping down to hide with Hugo. "Scorpius, c'mon!"

The little boy's feet thudded to the ground as Draco let him run off happily with Teddy, their hands clasped as they ran from an ever-laughing Hugo. Their squeals, cheers and cries of laughter were heard through the kitchen and the dining room beyond.

Harry went to Draco, pulling him into a tight hug. "I'll help you make breakfast for Hu and Teddy."

Wrapping his arms loosely around Harry's neck, he sealed their lips together with a pleasant hum. "I just say apple pancakes for all, and you let me keep you to myself all day." His heart warmed in his chest, the tips of his fingers tingling pleasantly with magic as he carted them through Harry's hair, their brows resting against each-other.

"I'm alright with that idea."

"I'm not," was Hermione's opinion as she sailed into the kitchen - or waddled, but no one was going to say so. "Honestly. I've been after the pair of you to help read for days now. You should be more invested."

Harry rolled his eyes, keeping close to his fiance.

"Well then how about we get the kids fed, the you and me spend the day in the library?" Draco compromised, twining a few pieces of Harry's hair against his fingers. "Kreacher can watch them for a few hours, and it gives Hermione time to just observe Scorp." The small cries of joy echoing from a room on the lower floor reminded the two wizards of their son playing happily, well fed and clean. "And then, hopefully, we can get him in a bath and to bed at a decent hour." The blonde raised an eyebrow, an accusing glance meeting Harry's. Last night, Scorpius didn't make it to bed, and the two adults had the most unfortunate situation of Scorpius walking in on them with a nightmare after their lovely little... makeup. Thank Merlin they had their pants back on.

"That wasn't only my fault," he pointed out.

"That actually isn't a bad idea, but Kreacher doesn't have to watch the boys. Ron's booked out. He can watch them. No need to overwork the poor thing."

Considering that Kreacher hardly did anything, Harry only sighed. "Right. Draco and I'll read, then."

With a small nod, and a pleasant smile towards the witch, Draco and Harry turned to the task at hand of making breakfast for the kids (getting themselves covered in flour and such in the process) and getting them settled down long enough to eat.

"So you and 'arry finally made up?" Teddy mumbled around a delicious piece of pancake as Draco cleaned the counter top by hand, content to just not use magic as often as he did as a teen.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, brat." Harry played with his hair - puce this morning - and smiled fondly when he swallowed and stuck his tongue out.

"But did you? Cousin Draco?"

Draco chuckled, grabbing an apple from the diminishing stack and taking a bite out of it. "Yes, we did. After some forcing from you three." He waved the apple-holding hand at the children who all giggled as if they had just got away with stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

Ron's eyes rolled. "Yeah, they made up all right."

Harry grinned at him. "You would know, wouldn't you?"

"I've asked Hermione to Obliviate me, but she's being mean."

"I am not being mean," she corrected over the top of her morning cuppa. "It's hardly worth tampering with your memory. All you did was see your best friend snogging his fiance. He's certainly seen the same with us."

Now it was Harry whose eyes rolled. "That's a very sad fact."

"We can always cover those memories up with something more... pleasant, love." Draco chuckled, leaning down to nip lightly at Harry's ear and give a warm, open-mouthed kiss to his neck as he shuffled over to cart a hair through Scorpius's pale locks. "All done, again, Scorpius?" The child got one more pancake as it wasn't fair to him the others were eating when he was already done.

"Hermione," Ron whined and his wife only laughed.

"Oh, just deal with it. It isn't hurting anything. Clearly nothing you should be queasy over." She patted her own rounded stomach meaningfully.

Hugo groaned, in league with his father. There was way too much kissing. He pushed his empty plate away, trying to get a smear of syrup off his cheek with his tongue.

Reaching over the table, Scorpius wiped the smudge of syrup off his cheek with a thin and nimble finger, a red hue reaching his cheeks as he wiped the syrup on his little denim jeans, the smudge instantly disappearing. "Alls gones."

Draco watched out of the corner of his eye with a warm feeling of love and admiration. His son, his baby Scorpius was so outgoing, so less... afraid of everything, no matter how exuberant he was when Harry first met him at the park those few weeks ago. It made the blonde smile and place a kiss against his son's forehead.

Hugo's cheeks were a flaming red and he quickly rubbed a hand over his face where Scorpius had touched. Harry laughed, getting to his feet and snagging the empty plates from the table. Teddy held his out, so the brunette got that one as well. He rinsed them off quickly, smiling to himself.

"Harry," Draco spoke quietly as he placed Scorpius back on the ground, adjusting his overly large shirt and kissing his head. "We should probably get to the library now; it's already getting late." Scorpius rushed off with a smacking of his lips and a peck to his daddy's nose, Hugo being set down by Ron and not too far behind, Teddy jumping down after them.

"Yeah." Harry finished the dishes magically to get them done.

"All my notes are in the library," Hermione began, instantly warming up to the suggestion. "Perhaps I should go up with you and show-"

"Hermione," Ron interrupted, "you've been going up and down those stairs for days."

"I know that, but-"

"We can figure it out," Harry said quickly, walking over and giving Hermione's belly a fond pat. "You don't want another early labor, do you?"

"That was absolutely mad," Ron muttered.

With a few good-hearted chuckles and a wave from Hermione with a cry of "Research, boys! Research!" Draco and Harry quietly made their way up the stairs towards the library, the cheers of the children following them till the library door fell shut with an ominous thud.

Grinning, Harry pressed Draco back against the door, a hand sliding into his hair. "Research, Draco. Research," he murmured, pressing his lips warmly to the other's.

Draco gave a small groan, pressing their lips fervently together. "This can wait Harry, I'd really like to get research done-" another soft nip of the lips. "Our son's life depends on it. Let's not waste time for something that can wait for tonight," he sucked on Harry's lower lip lightly. "And go on for hours."

"I know. I just wanted a last kiss before we resigned ourselves to reading. I don't even exactly know what we're looking for."

"Well, seeing as there are three massive piles of books laying around your library, I have a feeling Hermione might know. And, I'm guessing," Draco muttered quietly, face falling in to a mask of concentration. "That whatever we are looking for has something to do with a cure for a contaminate, a filter of some sort, something along those lines." The blonde picked a book of the teetering top of a pile, flipping through it with nimble fingers, a long yawn escaping his rosy-red lips.

"You're guessing or do you know?" Harry laid his hand over Draco's on the book, frowning. "I know Hermione's talked to you about this more than she has me."

Draco's hand tightened along the yellowing pages slightly. "I-" He glanced away, a small drift of the eyes towards his arm, his disgusting, grotesque arm that told Harry more than thousands of words could of. Or, at least, that is what Draco hoped.

"Fuck," Harry murmured, his hand leaving Draco's to rest on the man's cheek. "And the filter? Or do we not know that yet?"

Draco's eyes fell shut, his head titling slightly to rest into the warm touch and with a shuddering breath, his spoke a word that had been haunting him, a thought that had been dancing in the back of his head like a Wackspurt, an annoying little buzz. "You." His magic danced through his bones, tingling with a confirmation of the thought. "The filter is you, Harry."

He thought a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'll go through Hermione's notes, see if she has any ideas yet." He lowered his lips to Draco's. "Let's get our boy healed, yeah?"

Draco's lips quivered slightly, a small shake as he pressed back against the kiss fervently, his hand coming to rest firmly against Harry's cheek, drawing strength from the simple touch to solidify his own will. They'd be fine. They had to be. "Y-Yeah... yeah, let's go Golden Boy."

"Whatever I have to do, I'll do it," he promised quietly, lifting a hand to Draco's.

"Then let's get some reading done, shall we?" Draco pressed a kiss to the ring on Harry's finger, a small spark of magic dancing against his lips. Pulling away, he flopped unceremoniously down into a chair, cracking the book open, eyes instantly drifting over the pages.

Harry located Hermione's notes, sinking into the seat nearest him, and got to work.

-

He didn't mind reading, really. But when it was the same things over and over again and none of it was helping, it gave him a headache. He rubbed a hand over his face, yawning, and valiantly went back to the book... he got half a page in, realized he'd read the same paragraph twice, and huffed, slamming the book shut. "Bugger," he muttered. "What is all this? Magical centers, healing books that have nothing about what we're looking for."

"I don't even know..." Draco sighed petulantly, his hair disheveled from continually running his long fingered hand through it countless times. "All I've gathered is that magic is like an aura outside of the body, continually flowing in and out like the blood in your veins, and if you are close enough to a person for extended periods of time, your magic begins to filter with theirs, together. I'm going to guess," he arched his back with a stretch, sighing blissfully as his spine popped, sagging back into the chair. "That since Scorpius's magic is still in its developmental stage, it's very temperamental, and my..." he swallowed. "My magic is essentially poisoning him?" Tilting his head, Draco glanced up at his lover. "And you would be the filter, with all your powerful reservoirs of magic flowing in and out of your body."

"Yeah, that looks like the conclusion Hermione came to." Or that's what he'd gathered around page two of her notes before giving up on those. "But me being around him isn't a cure, just a stabilizer. And when my moods sour or he runs across something I don't like..." Harry slumped back, blinking at Draco. "Nutella. That was my fault."

Draco stood slowly, walking over and placing himself on the arm of Harry's chair, running his fingers soothingly through his soft, brown locks. "It wasn't your fault, things like that happen, we- No, I should of been prepared for that to happen."

"How? You didn't know." He leaned his head against Draco's side, sighing. "So I'm the filter, great. I'll stay around him obviously. I love him. But how can we make it a permanent cure? I haven't seen anything in these books that'll help with that."

"Well," the blonde fidgeting, sighing quietly, his heart warming at the small confession of affection towards his son. "There was one book... somewhere at the bottom of a pile that I read, that mentioned... Well..." Draco's shoulders sagged, his weight leaning fully against the back of the chair Harry had placed himself on, leaning to his side as he fumbled with his fingers, a small, nervous habit. "It mentioned blood adoption."

Harry looked up. "Blood adoption?"

-

"Blood adoption is illegal. It's highly unstable, has been proven deadly in too many cases..." Hermione shook her head. "Unless all the factors can be isolated, this isn't a viable option."

"What factors?"

She sighed. "Harry, what if he does survive, but his magic remains contaminated? If you're connected to him and so is Draco, your usefulness as a filter could be compromised. Instead of stable, he goes right back down. Draco would need to have his magic permanently banked and..." She waved a hand in the air, frustrated. "My first reading was done when Draco's magic was still gone. He had a year. That timeline's changed since Harry became part of his life, but it isn't much better."

"So even removing Draco's magic won't keep Scorpius alive if that blood thing doesn't work?" Ron wondered.

"Exactly. And there is a very real chance that Harry's would have to be banked as well if it doesn't work. Or if the shock of it doesn't kill Scorpius outright."

"Can't we just slowly filter Harry's blood into Scorpius's system, instead of a vital shock all at once?" Draco moved away from the kitchen door, striding into the dark coloured kitchen and placing himself behind Harry's shoulder, the picture of prim and perfect. "Or would draining his veins make it easier?" The thought had Draco weak at the knees. Scorpius's blood, all of it, leaving his veins to be replaced? This was too much for a five-year old, but even he knew limits, at this point in time, didn't exist.

"A little at a time wouldn't work and draining his veins entirely would be a needless waste. It doesn't work like that. It's-" Hermione broke off, flipping open the book. "The pair of you obviously didn't research this very well before you brought it to me."

"Why? Have you?"

"Of course I have, but I've ruled it out already. It's completely insane."

"It's essentially just replacing one parents genes with another wizard or witches isn't it?" Draco's brow furrowed, leaning over Harry's shoulder, ignoring the heat that radiated off the dark-haired Gryffindor in-light of leaning down to glance at the book Hermione had lain out on the table. "But the new genes, the new magic has to be more concentrated, more powerful than the previous parents, correct? Or am I mistaken?"

"You are a bit. It's not replacing. It's combining." Hermione stared down at the page, sighing heavily. She thought she'd gotten rid of all the books on blood adoption for just this reason. At least this one was just a blurb. "It's the same reason why blood isn't used in marriage ceremonies anymore. It's too unstable."

Draco gave a small sigh, a hand coming up to rub at the bridge of his nose irritably. "Well then what are we suppose to do? Lock Harry and Scorpius in a room together for the next four years and see if it changes anyth-"

"P'pa? 'Addy?" A voice spoke quietly, the room falling silent as Scorpius shuffled into the room, rubbing at his eyes tiredly, a small blue blanket, fluffy and warm clutched in his hands, Perry's small plush body riding on the tail end of the blanket like a King. His cheeks were still red, as well as the tip of his tiny nose, his yawns sounding heavy with congestion as he shuffled over to hold his hands up towards Harry, eyes continually drooping shut.

Harry cast worried eyes Hermione's way, becoming even more worried when her expression showed the same, and lifted the boy into his lap. "Oh, Scorpius, what're you doing up so late?"

The little boy curled up, Draco kneeling down with a furrowed brow to gently rub his back, cooing softly and combing back his hair. "Can' sle'p..." Scorpius's head pushed against Harry's stomach as he clung to the larger male's hand around his waist.

He hadn't been sick when they'd put him to bed, Harry recalled, and wondered if it was all the worry that had worsened him again. Hermione pursed her lips, studying them. "He's more tied into your emotions than I thought, Harry..."

Scorpius's eyes were puffy, his nose stuffed as he fell back into a restless sleep against Harry's stomach, curling up tightly in his lap. Draco picked Perry up, setting him in the boy's hands and wrapping the blue blanket he had shuffled in with tightly around his shoulders. "We need to do something Hermione. And fast."

"I know that." She lifted her wand, casting the diagnostic. Colors danced over his quivering frame. "All this up and down isn't any better for his system than the illness itself. We should have a few more days before..." She trailed off. "Oh," she whispered.

Ron looked from the boy to her. "Oh?" She looked at him and then at Harry, and both men went pale.

"Oh? Hermione! What do you mean by oh?" Draco stood quickly, face ashen with fear, blood running cold in his veins as his magic sparked against his finger tips.

She grabbed his arm quickly. "Calm down immediately or leave the room. Harry, same with you. The less negative magic we have around him the better."

Draco quickly took a few, pacing steps backwards, hands flexing, calming breaths filling his lungs. "Okay, okay... Hermione, what's wrong?" The blonde turned back, glancing at the healer, then back at his son in his fiance's lap.

Harry stroked Scorpius's hair, focusing on making the boy better to calm himself. He would be fine, he told himself. He had to be.

"It's... It's difficult to explain. I can't tell you exactly what's wrong, but..."

"But what Hermione?" Harry spoke up quietly.

"We just need to get him to St. Mungo's. A sealed room. All this back and forth when he still wasn't fully healed from the allergens..." Hermione managed to get to her feet, brushing off her husband's offered hand. There were things to be done. "Draco, you stay and pack him a little bag. Harry, Ron, and I will get him situated."

Draco snapped into action instantly after a small, worried glance shared between him and his lover. "Okay, okay." Leaning down, he pressed a searing kiss to Harry's lips. "I love you; take care of your son."

Leaning down further, pressing a soft, gentle kiss against Scorpius's temple, Draco whispered softly as not to wake the little boy as people began bustling around the small kitchen. "I'll be with you soon, Scorpius. Daddy loves you."

"Good. Wonderful. Let's go. Draco, Harry will come and get you when I decide it's best for you to be there." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hermione," Draco glanced up, standing quietly. "Let's just focus on getting me and my fiance's son better, shall we? Now is not the time to apologize, nor was it ever." Draco gave a quick nod, turning and rushing out of the room to go and make up a small bag for Scorpius.

Harry rose, holding Scorpius gently. He nuzzled into his hair. "Hey, kiddo, we're gonna get you all better, okay? Soon now."

Scorpius mumbled quietly, head resting lightly against Harry's shoulder. "'kay 'apa..." Even through the thin layer of Harry's shirt, did the almost-Father feel the heat of Scorpius's skin and the sweat beading on his forehead.

Harry beat back the swell of worry that threatened to engulf him, replacing it as quickly as he could with hope. Mine, he thought. My little boy. He went through the floo at Hermione's insistence against Apparating him.

Ron grabbed his wife's arm before she could follow. "How bad?"

She looked up at him, letting the heartbreak and fear flood her expression. "Days if we're lucky."

The redhead nodded. As much as he was still on the fence about the whole Draco Malfoy thing, he couldn't imagine the suffering he was going through. And since that was Harry's burden now, Ron would help. "Let's stretch our luck then."

Hermione nodded, confident mask firmly back in place as she Apparated them both to St. Mungo's.

-

Draco stepped slowly into the room, the door creaking quietly behind him. Bright blue items were splattered around the room; a bright blue comforter covered in little Snitch toys and various plushies, random Quidditch team blankets thrown over pillows and on the mahogany posts of the bed. The mini-version of Hogwarts Draco had bought Scorpius before he had... before he had gotten sick sat in the corner, random figures and little toys thrown around hastily as if all the characters were having some form of a duel on the pointed turrets and the boat house; the blonde and brunette figures oddly enough clumped together atop the roof of what looked to be the Great Hall.

Glancing around, a bright light flickering in and out of his vision, Draco lifted a hand, catching the Snitch night-light and canceling it with a wave of his hand, the wings folding into itself with a small buzz and a click. Swallowing, the blonde wandered further into the room with small, hesitant steps. Books and pillows, clothes and shoes littered the floor as if thrown off in haste, Draco imagining the times him and Harry had rushed into the room with Scorpius, picking him up and spinning him around, tickling him on the bed with their own smiles of affection and love for the fragile, frail little boy.

"Got you!" A voice chuckled, arms swooping down to lock under Scorpius's, lifting the boy and spinning him high in the air.

"D-D-Daaaaadddyyy!" Scorpius squealed, clutching Draco's hands with a loud, body racking laugh, face flushed with happiness, silver eyes wide and full of childish glee. "Papa! Papa! Help!"

Harry smiled from the door way, quickly rushing in to assist his fiance in tickling their son.

"I don't think so mister!"

Draco gave a small start, shaking himself out of his reverie. That tickle session had lasted the better part of half an hour, and then they proceeded to collect a little Scorpius, change him into his little Lion faced onesie and put him into bed, the two parents staying with their son until he fell asleep, Perry clutched in his little hands, burrowed beneath a plethora of blankets.

Giving a small sigh, Draco walked towards the bed, kneeling down and pulling a cauldron shaped satchel out from under the frame of the mattress, a small, devastating smile curling against his lips. Scorpius wore the satchel on his back so proudly the day he got it, exclaiming that he was going to be just like his father when he was older because "My daddy's amazin' at Potions, so I will bes as well!"

Shaking his head, Draco stood, slowly walking around the room and collecting small items and placing them into the bag after cleansing it, deciding to be safe and not place an extension charm on the bag for fear the magic used might contaminate the objects he set in its space. His snake plushie, and the lion Harry bought him when he went out to get groceries one morning, Draco still fast asleep from a night of revealing talks and calming whispers, his favorite Snitch onesie, a few small child-readable Potions books and, leaning down, he folded up the Bulgarian and Chudley Cannon's quilts Ron and Hermione had gifted the boy as a small get well memento. Placing them all in the bag, Draco zipped it closed, chuckling as the top of the cauldron turned from a vivid purple backed by charcoal grey, to a bright, acidic green, signaling that the bag was full and zipped. (More or less child-proof than anything else, Scorpius was always rushing away with his bags unzipped, therefore dropping everything in it onto the floor, or an unassuming parent's feet.)

Walking slowly towards the door, thoughts swimming with quiet 'Oh Scorpius...' to 'I'm so sorry Scorp, daddy will be there soon, we will find a cure to this. I promise.' One last look around had Draco reaching to the doorjamb and pulling off the small, Golden Snitch, placing it deep into the confines of his pocket. The door fell closed with a small click, the charmed lights extinguishing immediately.

"Kreacher!" The blonde called out, deciding to have the elf deliver it then some how interfering with his son's care. The thought stung, Draco rubbing his chest absentmindedly as the house elf appeared with a crack.

"Kreacher, I need this to get to Hermione Weasley at St. Mungo's, immediately. And only to Hermione, do you understand?"

The house-elf took the bag, bowing low. "Yes, Master Draco." He was gone with a crack.

A few minutes later there was another, this one bringing Harry to Grimmauld Place. "Hermione's kicked me out for a bit. They're testing. I want to..." He thought of the time limit Ron had quietly murmured to him and his throat seized. Godric, not his boy... Not that sweet little boy. "Blood adoption," he managed. "We need to look into that." Because it was all they had.

The few minutes that had passed between Kreacher's departure, and Harry's arrival found Draco Malfoy flopped, boneless, on the creaky old stairs, head held limply in his hands, a muffled 'okay' escaping his lips; his tongue felt like cotton, his eyes stung, and his chest constricted to the point where he couldn't breathe. His baby boy...

Harry sank down beside him, hugging him tightly. "She doesn't know... She doesn't know where the sudden drop came from. That's what they're trying to figure out. She's hoping they can... maybe they can reverse it."

"They can't reverse it Harry... my... o-our baby boy is g-going... going-" Draco sagged against the body next to him, tears stinging against his eyes but refusing to fall. "He's not going to make it." His voice was hoarse and rough, as if his vocal chords had been torn and ripped apart.

"Don't." Harry clung tighter, buried his face in Draco's hair. "He will not. I'm not going to let it happen. We can try that blood adoption. We will try it. It works in some cases; that's what Hermione said. It's worked before. We just have to figure out how. We'll make it work."

"Harry..." Draco sighed pleadingly, pushing himself up and away from the brunette, leaning against the dark hued wallpaper behind him, coarse to the friction of the fabric of his shirt. Holding out his left arm and rolling the sleeve up, Draco dropped his gaze and his head. The tattoo squirmed on his arm, the ragged black lines dancing and wiggling against his pale, scarred skin. The tattoo was pulsing a dull, faint, sickly green, small sparks of bright yellow magic dancing across his skin. "He won't make it," Draco's voice was barely above a whisper, shame eating away at his body. He was doing this to his son, his Scorpius, the boy he vowed to protect after Astoria walked out on them the night Scorpius's sickness revealed itself. It was all him, and here he was, the great Ice Prince of Slytherin, weak and lifeless as his son lay dying in a hospital that only weeks ago refused to help him, passing the illness off as just a flu. He would curse himself to the day he died for ever following his father.

Harry pressed a hand over the Mark, ignored the odd burning he felt from it. "He will make it. But if you give up while there's still a chance, I'll never forgive you. I won't lose him. Not when there's still a chance." His grip tightened, the burn increasing. "I love you both. I'll have you both."

Draco's gaze lifted, glancing through pale lashes, wavering silver meeting determined green. "I'll never give up on my son, Harry," he whispered sharply. "But it doesn't mean I can't prepare to accept what is." Jerking his arm away and turning Harry's hand over, Draco flinched. "See?" The rough skin of Harry's palm was torn and bloody, strips of skin scorched and peeled away from his palm.

Harry curled his fingers, fisting his hand and hiding the injury. "There's still a chance. I've spent my entire life getting told 'impossible' and 'no,' and I'm not going to give in without exploring all the options."

The blonde paused a moment, thoughts milling around inside his head. "You stupid, fool hearty Gryffindors never give up, do you?"

"I don't know about all Gryffindors, but I don't."

Lifting his hand, Draco pushed it through Harry's hair, tugging him down, he smashed their lips into a fierce kiss. "I swear, Potter. You better give your fucking all, every last drop of your damned Golden Boy blood to save our son, do you hear me?"

"Everything I have, Draco." He closed his eyes, resting his brow on the blonde's. "Everything I have for my everythings."

Draco smirked, his lips curving as he pressed fiercely back against the brunette's lips. "Sap." Pulling away, he stood with a flourish, holding his hand out. "Research time, scarhead?"

"Absolutely, ferret." He reached out his uninjured hand, gripping Draco's. He'd read until his eyes bled if need be.

Leading the brunette up towards the library once more, with commands to Kreacher to not interrupt them unless absolutely necessary, the glare he had given at the house elf smirking with some form of twisted pride, Draco and Harry sat down and began pouring back over their notes and books, deciding that Blood Adoption was their best course of action.

Hours passed, backs ached, necks cricked and hearts stopped as the fire in the library roared to life, a bright green flame as the two inside the room cringed with surfacing memories. Glancing at the fire, Harry and Draco quickly rushed over, jumping off their chairs, and over the backs of couches to kneel in front of the grate.

"Harry- Malf-Draco? You t-"

"Ron, yes, we're here. What's going on? Is everything alright?" Draco could never recall who spoke first, or who said what, their hearts in their throats, pounding with nervous fear and anxiety.

"You two need to get to the hospital. Immediately."

"W-What? Why?"

"Scorpius. He's dying."


	19. Decio & Surprise

Chapter 19

_Decio & Surprise_

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

The only sound in the little hospital room was the turning of pages, the occasional irritated huff when the words didn't spell out exacting instructions or answers to what seemed like an ever-growing list of questions. It was Draco, now, who had the protective, cleansing bubble attached to him. Though it was more to keep his contamination in then to keep anything out. The Dark Mark seemed to sense the presence of near-death, the dark magic within clawing for release. The bubble had to be replenished every hour, but it was better than the alternative: barring Draco from the room entirely. None of them wanted to do that to the worried father.

It had been two days since Scorpius had been brought to St. Mungo's. He'd fallen into a coma not long after Harry had gone off to Grimmauld Place and hadn't woken up since. The only person who'd left the room in that time was Ron, to check on Teddy and Hugo, who'd been sent to Andromeda's for the time being. But Harry's presence was doing nothing but providing very slight improvements. Hermione estimated that it would be six months before he was up and functioning again at the rate things were going.

The fact that he quite simply didn't have days - his own magic seemed to be on a warpath within his little body - went unsaid. It still weighed heavily in the room, pressing down on all of them. Pages turned faster, notes were scribbled desperately. A puzzle was being solved, a plan slowly forming.

And Harry thought he had another piece. A book was dropped to a table, making Ron jump. "We have to get married." The announcement, so sudden from Harry, had Ron tumbling from his chair on the downward motion of his jolt.

The silence was maddening to Draco, pages crinkling in his hands, books feeling like they weighed tons in his palms. Exhaustion racked at his brain, as well as determination to fix what he had done. Glancing up quickly at the thud of the book, Draco's heart gave a jump, a shocking start at the words that left his fiance's lips.

"Wha-?" Draco's voice cracked with disuse, the blonde jumping up from his position in the corner of the room, eyes wide. Clearing his throat, Draco stared at Harry as if he had grown four heads and a tail, which at this point, if it helped Scorpius, the more tails the better. "What are you talking about Harry? What does that possibly have to do with anything?"

"In every successful case, the parent and the adoptive parent have been married." There were, naturally, cases of death despite this little factoid. But Harry still noted that not a single one had been successful without a marriage bond. "We were going to anyway and we can always have another wedding when this is all over."

"Harry, we don't have time, the amount of paper work that is going to need. We'll need an official, and certain healers, and potions-"

"He's right."

"H-Hermione? What?" Draco fell back against his chair with a thud.

"All the paperwork can be pushed through quickly. Don't forget who you're dealing with," Harry reminded him. As much as he hated to rely on his fame, he and his friends were the so-called Golden Trio. And Harry would use anything he had at his disposal if it meant helping Draco and Scorpius... and himself, since they were his now. "We have Hermione as our Healer and there are others who'd do it."

"I know an official who owes me a favor," Ron put in and received a grateful nod from Harry. "And an official'll have all the potions you'd need for a traditional marriage bond."

"While you're pushing through marriage paperwork, blood adoption forms can go through." Hermione held out her clipboard to Draco. "You'll need to sign, of course. There are several forms of consent and such, but I've filled out everything else."

Draco grabbed the board, reaching for the quill Hermione handed him, already dipped in ink. "Of course. But," he glanced behind him at Ron, "I don't want this getting out."

Ron exchanged glances with Hermione. They'd already hit huge on the front page of the Prophet, but they'd decided to keep Harry and Draco in the dark. The last thing that was needed in this gloomy room was more stress. "The official owes me a very big favor. He'll keep quiet."

With a nod, Draco jerked the quill across the paper, signing quickly with a jotting flourish. "Here, go, please hurry." Draco handed the clipboard to Hermione, backing up as the bubble reformed with a pop around his arms.

"I can't do the legwork as I'd like," she began, clipboard passing to Harry. "Sign where I've marked. So Ron will have to take it all through. We can't let Harry leave unless it's an absolute emergency." She'd already calculated how long Scorpius would last in this condition without Harry nearby. They weren't very good odds.

A few nods and rushed words passed between the wizards and witch, Ron quickly rushing out to disapparate to the Ministry. Merlin, they hoped he could get the paperwork through and fast.

Scorpius lay, motionless, pale against already pale sheets. His skin was flushed and had a sickly blue tone to it, his cheeks sallow, purple bags forming slowly under his sealed eyes. His body was weak, near emaciated, his veins seen through his skin, his bones seen through that. Draco sat, curled up in the corner, willing to give anything to just be able to run his hands through his son's hair. "O-Oh Scorpius..." Left his lips.

Harry reached out, latched his hand onto Draco's. "It'll be okay."

The bubble formed around Harry's hand, pulsating like the inflation of a lung, or the beat of a heart. "I know," his voice was hoarse, scratchy with unshed tears.

"I love you," he murmured, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I love you too." Draco laced their fingers tightly. "Merlin how I wish I could hold you right now." Hermione had ruled that out, as well. Too much physical contact ran the risk of either blocking Harry entirely from Scorpius or temporarily contaminating Harry.

"Soon." Harry stared into his eyes, determination in the green depths. Just a few more days, just until papers could be approved and a life made possible. Soon.

"Harry? Draco? I need to go and get a few things from my office, I'll be back as soon as possible. I just can't risk apparating, or summoning them." Hermione spoke quietly from her position next to Scorpius's hospital bed. She was weary, but set with determination.

Harry nodded, but didn't look away from Draco. These had been two of the worst days of his life, and that was saying something.

With a small nod, Hermione shuffled out of the room, the door clicking closed quietly behind her, leaving just the sound of weak breathing and the beep of the their son's heart.

"Merlin Harry, I hope Ron gets here soon." Draco refused to be weary at all with Hermione in the room. She has done so much for him, that he refuses to show weakness, but with just his lover and their dying son... He crumpled.

"Cor, Draco, so do I... He will, I'm sure. I don't think he'll dawdle over this."

"He better not," Draco sighed, standing swiftly and carefully maneuvering himself around the tight space of the hospital room to place himself in the chair Hermione once occupied. "I've already seen one child die in my life, and more under V-Voldemort, but this... Merlin Harry... my son, our son."

"I know, Draco." Harry went over to sit on the side of the bed, reaching out and laying his hand on Scorpius's. "But we're not going to watch him die. It'll be alright."

"I think I might, um..." Draco fidgeted, memories flashing behind his lids as Harry gently held Scorpius's hands. "Go and get some food for us- I-"

Harry looked up, frowning. "Draco...? What is it, love?"

"I just-" His hands wrung together, nervousness and fear evident in the weary lines of his pale, aristocratic face. Eyes, ice blue in the darkness of the room (the lights creating too much magical interference) looked almost devastated, more so then in the elder Malfoy's current situation. "Pansy- She uh... she lost her baby... Theo- He... well..." Draco's head dropped. "Theo forced her to miscarry. H-He... He beat her."

Harry released Scorpius's hand because his hands wanted to curl into fists. "I knew he had... You said... when you busted his nose, you mentioned something about her having broken bones. It was..." Guilt nagged at him; he blocked it and decided to let Draco tell the story. "She was pregnant?"

Lifting his knees to wrap his arms securely around them, Draco gave a small, exhausted sigh. "It was a few years after Hogwarts, before I even thought about marrying Astoria, and... well..." He fidgeted for a moment.

"Pansy came rushing in to the manor one morning, tears pouring down her cheeks. I was really worried, obviously, and it was just me and Blaise in for lunch. Remember Blaise? Zabini?" He glanced up for a nod. "She proceeded to squeal and tell me that her and her secret boyfriend got her pregnant. She refused to tell me and Blaise whom the man was until she was sure he was," he lifted his hands, "Mr. Right," and made air quotes with his fingers.

"We were excited, obviously, and then she... Well..." A guilty expression crossed Draco's face. "She told us who he was."

"Never a fan of Nott, then?" Harry murmured.

"Not after he broke my heart in our Hogwarts days. Or did you forget that little tidbit?"

"No, right, I remember. I just find it difficult to imagine anyone cheating on you." His smile was sheepish, but quickly faded. "What did you do when she told you?"

"Nothing, obviously. The moment she left though, I exploded. It took Blaise and two house elves to finally calm me down and shove a Calming Draught down my throat." Draco leaned back into his hair with a sigh.

"After that, me and Blaise took to watching her more closely, obviously for the pregnancy, and both because neither of us even came close to trusting Nott. And he knew it too. The moment we all accidentally bumped into each other in Diagon Alley."

"Oh! Draco!" A voice gasped, ecstatic, the sound of heels clacking against cobblestone loud in the light of a quiet Wednesday afternoon. Said blonde was quickly enveloped in a hug, the dark-skinned man next to him was next with a shocked cry of "Blaise!"

"Draco. Zabini." The two men froze, Pansy turning with a flushed smile, her hand dropping down to her stomach and the small protruding bump, covered by a warm, fitted charcoal coat.

"Draco, Blaise," Pansy giggled, turning and grabbing Theo's arm to drag him closer, ignorant of the volatile expression on his face or the way his posture stood rigid, as if wanting to just jump and run, leaving the three Slytherins in his wake. "My boyfriend Theo. You remember him, don't you?"

Of course they did. How could they forget? It took Draco weeks after having his heart crushed by his 'lover' to finally admit that both Draco and Blaise despised Theo, and he knew it as well.

"Theo, pleasure." Hands were shook, grins were forced onto cold, chapped lips, and sharp, cold and calculating glares were sent as Pansy invited them to lunch with her and Theo, and then to shopping around Diagon Alley for some supplies for her "magnificent nursery."

How could Draco and Blaise refuse?

"We all watched her carefully," Draco shook his head, lifting a hand to tug it through unkempt blonde locks. "For any signs of anything. The first bruise appeared three and a half months into her pregnancy." His hand lifted, just so, to touch at the edge of his stubbled jaw.

"Fuck," Harry breathed, closing his eyes. He wanted to ask why Pansy had stayed with him, but he knew.

"After that, she just kept passing it off as her not being able to keep her balance due to her stomach, and this and that... The bruises kept coming, and Pansy went from being the light of me and Blaise's life, to just... not light at all. Skip another four months, and Pansy was around... Eight months pregnant, if I recall?" Draco hand dropped to twist the ring almost meditatively around his finger. "It was my wedding day. With Astoria... A lot had happened those past few months, and I felt disgusted with myself, guilty to the point of hatred that I hadn't been looking after Pans. She walked in to my dressing room about an hour before I was due to walk down the aisle to await for Astoria..."

The blonde sighed quietly. "Her glamour was wavering from exhaustion, her stance was sharp as if it hurt to sit, and her hands were shaking against her stomach. Covered in bruises... Cuts... Scrapes... Scars... The glamour fell ten minutes before I had to leave, me and Pans hadn't said one word... Salazar Harry... S-She was so... abused. There was no light in her eyes, no smiles against her lips, no perky expressions that we all hated during our Hogwarts days," he didn't even bother waiting for a conformation on that thought, barreling on. "Half her face was bruised, her eye swollen shut and her lip split as if someone had smacked her viciouslywith a large book... Her neck had bruises and her shoulders were pointed and bony, her face hallow... Her eyes vacant... M-Merlin..." Tears wavered in the blonde's eyes, his shaking hands wrapping around his own stomach as a sneer curled against his lips, a viciously, blood-thirsty sneer. "I wanted to murder him."

He'd never liked Pansy Parkinson. From the moment she'd sneered at him that first time to the moment she'd suggested they hand him right on over to Voldemort. But his stomach rolled and empathy welled. "That..." Harry swallowed the bile that rose into his throat - he'd spent years with Nott. "Godric..."

"Well, you can imagine that the moment Blaise walked into the room to get me down the aisle, the wedding never happened. We got my mother," he glanced up at the small movement from Harry. "This was before she disappeared off the face of the ruddy earth." He stretched his legs out. "Well, we got mother to take Pans to St. Mungo's, and then me and Blaise... Well, we went and had a little talk." Draco shuddered. "Long story short, a few weeks before Pans was supposed to give birth, we got a Patronus from St. Mungo's, one of their Healers there." Draco rubbed at his face, weariness and exhaustion creeping into his eyes, the lines of his mouth. "Pansy had miscarried. Beaten within an inch of her life; broken ribs, cracked jaw, swollen eyes, broken wrist, a broken ankle and dislocated knee and shoulder..." The blonde Slytherin felt his stomach roll. "Theo had escaped, but was caught by Aurors not too long after. Blamed everything on the Dark Lord. The fucking Dark Lord." He had never been more disgusted as he spat those words, his hands clenched in his lap.

"I... I remember that." Shame washed over Harry's face and his eyes cast downward. "He was... Newer aurors are usually put on cases like that, abuse cases. Toughens them up the quickest, seeing what people who are supposed to care can do. And the aurors that brought Nott in panicked when he said that, came straight to me. Fucking impossible. I killed Voldemort and it pissed me off that someone would claim to have been affected by him. So I went in and took over the interrogation." Harry ran a hand through his hair, getting to his feet and pacing as far away from Scorpius as he could in the small room. "He ended up with a few months in Azkaban and a year of required therapy with a mind-Healer."

Draco stood quickly, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him out of the room when Scorpius's breathing gave a small hitch. The door clicked shut behind them.

"He blamed it on the fact that Voldemort didn't Mark anyone from my year in Hogwarts besides me, he thought Pansy might have known something that he didn't and he could... beat it out of her and resurrect his lovely fucking 'Dark Lord.'" Draco sneered, pulling his hand back, the bubble forming around him once more.

Harry bowed his head, closing his eyes. "He disappeared. After the year of therapy. It was another year after that Ron and I were working a smuggling case, and we had a pretty good idea of who it was. But the suspect was an old Ministry contact and had immunity up to his ears, so we had to tread carefully because Muggles were dying. He'd crossed the line, finally, but we couldn't get to him without a lot of legwork. Ron and I are bad candidates for undercover work for obvious reasons and I never really like to use polyjuice - bad memories - so we had a third member go in.

"He was dead after two months, and then... Nott showed up at the crime scene. He had names, dates, their next drop location, but he would only give it to me because I'd helped him see the light before. Obviously not, since he was working for this bloody smuggling thing and very high up in it, but my superiors were pressing in and if he was going to tell me, we were going to go for it. It took another month, but we got him... and Nott and I... celebrated."

Harry made himself look up, pale, eyes dark with shame. "I never even thought about the abuse charges because he never mentioned them, never alluded to them at all, and I let myself not think about them because it had been Parkinson."

Draco sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I was there. This very hospital, actually. A few floors up. Here for hours..." Shudders ripped through his body... So much blood... so many screams and tears... "Pansy's miscarriage was violent. T-Twins." His arms wrapped tightly around his rolling stomach, bile rising in his throat. "Tangled limbs, ripped body par-parts..."

"I know," Harry breathed. "I know. Fuck." He spun away, placed a hand on the wall and watched it curl into a fist. "He was arrested a couple of months later. I had to do it... He'd started a business, but everything he sold was tainted in some way. A malformed portkey was the worst of it, and I was working in that section of the auror department, so I ended up making the arrest. I read... I read the old report to remind myself that he was going to Azkaban for a reason, a few reasons. He got out a couple of months after that, but I'd transferred to a different area with Ron. I couldn't deal with abuse cases or smuggling anymore. Homicide wasn't much better that abuse, but... At least I know how to deal with that. I've dealt with murder literally my entire life. But he got out and I..."

He lifted his other hand, still not facing Draco. "I had two lovers between Nott's arrest and his release. The first didn't seem to understand the pressures of my job - even worse then than they are now - and broke up with me in the form of tearing my flat to bits. The second didn't seem to understand why I didn't want to go out and about, have my face plastered in the Prophet. He didn't see why I was working so much and not spending my wealth on, well, him. I kicked him out after he gave an exposé to the Prophet, detailing all the 'shocking' details about the world's saviour and whatnot. So I broke it off with him and had gone right back to the comfortable world of celibacy. We'd wrapped up a bad case - serial killer who liked to play with his victims before slowly letting them bleed to death. And Nott was at my flat. A few smooth words and I fell right back into it with him. It was exactly what you always hear, too. 'But I've changed. I won't do it again. Please, Harry, you're all I need.'" His laugh was soft and self-deprecating. "This was pre-mind-Healer so I was... I was still pretty desperate to be needed and cared about, so I lapped it up."

Draco stepped forward, the bubble dropping for a few moments with a powerful wave of his magic, his arms coming to wrap securely around Harry's waist as he allowed the bubble to reform. "You do need- no, deserve to be cared about Harry. We got our revenge on Nott, me and Blaise slowly helped Pansy heal, and now look: she and Blaise are deeply in love and Blaise, his partner Smith - business partner - and her are like the new Golden Trio." The last, vile lurch rolled through his body, his forehead resting weakly against Harry's shoulder. "I'm just... I-" 'I can't lose Scorpius.' He couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't bring himself to say it and hear the rebuttal that his son would make it, hear words that he slowly was losing belief in.

"It's been like that for years," Harry whispered, needing to finish now that he'd started, but he leaned back into Draco's embrace. "Someone in the department would arrest him, he would get out after a time or there wouldn't be enough evidence to hold him or he'd be let go at the trial stage and then he would come right back to me. The sessions with the mind-Healer would've gone so much faster if I hadn't been dealing with that. But he kept dragging me back... Even after I'd been put back on duty and cleared by the Healer, I just kept falling for it. I kept thinking 'maybe' like a bloody idiot. And then last time." Harry turned his head, cheek resting on Draco's hair. "I still work in homicide. And I had to make the arrest. His magical signature was all over this scene and I didn't need the analysts to tell me what had happened. Ten people. Oh, sweet Merlin."

Harry squeezed his eyes shut. "He was supposed to go to Azkaban for years. They weren't going to let him out again and I put in a personal request that he be kept behind bars. But he did a little song-and-dance to the tune of 'accident' at the trial. He got two years, one of which being house arrest, and five of required therapy. Ten people and he gets therapy to deal with his smuggling compulsion. And he's out in two goddamn months. Bloody hell, Draco, this system pisses me off to no end at times..." And he could admit, in the deepest part of his mind, that he had no hope that they would come through with Scorpius. They said no when it mattered, and nothing had ever mattered to Harry more. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'm so sorry I never thought of Pansy."

Draco combed a hand softly through Harry's hair, his heart jerking like the pull of apparation in his chest. "You couldn't of known, love. You didn't need to worry about her then. Do not blame yourself Harry. The Wizarding world... What we all fought for during the war... We constantly change. We are constantly changing, and sometimes... We need to start from the ground up. Pans got the help she needed, you got the help you needed, and Nott," he spat. "Is going to get the help he needs. From behind bars in Azkaban prison or at the tip of my wand. Whichever comes first." Leaning forward, Draco nuzzled his face warmly against Harry's hair, quiet whispers leaving his lips. "You deserve so much, and the things you've seen... I'm sorry Harry."

Harry turned in his arms and held on tightly. Bugger what Hermione had said. He had more faith - more proof - that any love he felt was more powerful than anything Voldemort had ever done. And Harry knew with absolute certainty that he'd never love anyone the way he did Draco Malfoy.

The two wizards rested against each other and held on tight, no words passing between them except little mumbles of sweet nothings and reassuring words. A small crash from inside Scorpius's hospital room had the two jerking apart and rushing inside. An owl was adjusting its feathers atop the bedside table, a small note strapped hastily to its leg.

Harry stared at the Ministry owl, shivered as he unattached the note and unrolled it. His eyes closed once he'd read it and he simply held it out to Draco. Those bloody bastards.

Harry. Hit a wall. Fucking Ministry prick basically said "too bad, fuck you." I can't get to Kingsley either. Meeting. You're supposed to be there anyway (dunno why) so they'll let you in. I'm blocked by wards. Come quick. Level three.

Draco read over his shoulder, quietly cursing to himself about the fucking idiots at the Ministry. "Go, immediately," he grabbed Harry's shoulder, giving his a rather small, forceful turn and push towards the door.

"But... I was already out of this room for..." He didn't know. But then Ron had underlined "quick" and he never took the time to underline things, especially not as roughly as he had there. "Fuck," he whispered and went to Scorpius. He laid a hand over the boy's heart and closed his eyes, pushing everything he had at the child. "I love you, Scorp," he whispered and shot a look at Draco. "I'll apparate there, get into the meeting, make Kingsley sign, and be back."

"Bloody fuck Potter," Draco grabbed his arm, heart pounding, giving him a forceful push out the door. "Don't talk, do. Use that stupid Gryffindor brashness and go save your son. Go!"

"Love you too, you prat." Harry dragged him into a heated, desperate kiss that was over much too fast and didn't say half what Harry wanted to say. "Don't give up," he whispered and was gone with a crack.

Draco glanced quickly over to Scorpius, cursing Harry bloody Potter till the day he was born. The idiot's apparation, whilst a few feet outside the door was still too close to Scorpius, the boy's lungs wheezing, gasping for air. Shite. Quickly dispelling the bubble, Draco rushed forward and grabbed a passing Healer's arm. "Get me Healer Granger, immediately!" The Healer nodded, grabbing his wand and casting a small Patronus. They knew the consequences if they didn't help Draco Malfoy, they knew who he was dealing with. The Healer turned and rushed back off, the bird-looking Patrnous flying away, bursting through the walls off towards Hermione. Draco turned, reformed the bubble once more with an exhausted shudder and rushed back inside.

Hermione was in a few minutes later, panting. "What? What's-" She broke off, rounding on Draco. "I leave you two alone for five minutes and there's enough magic in this room- Owl feathers?" She let out an irritated sound, wand going over Scorpius. Her breath hitched. "Where's Harry gone?"

"Ministry- Ron sent an owl-" Draco was rapidly going through notes in his head from what they had read, holding Scorpius's shoulder down so Hermione could clear his airways before being roughly shoved away with a cry of 'Dark magic!' and Hermione rushing back to work.

"Merlin's pants," she snapped and covered the entire bed in a protective shield. They couldn't move him, but there was too much magic in the room. They'd been steady for two days... "He has to come back. He must. This shows he's been away at least ten minutes." He'd had forty-five, but with so much magic in the air now... "How long did he say he'd be? He should've waited to leave until the magic had settled in here!"

"We were only outside for five! He just left not even two minutes previous!" Draco was shaking violently, his magic snapping in and out of his body before he made the decision to stand and rush out of the room. Scorpius with his pale, almost translucent skin, matted blonde hair and emaciated body was seizing, back arching off the body, limbs twitching and spasming, mouth open in silent noises as his lungs tried to call in more air through magic-choked airways, his skin turning a sickly, pale green- blue- ashen white- purple- The door to the hospital room fell shut in front of him and Draco collapsed to his knees.

"Why," Hermione shrieked, "were you outside?" Her voice lowered as she concentrated more fully on getting Scorpius stable. Oh, Merlin, this was... This was bad. Her own magic wasn't strong enough to filter all the magic out and some of it was Harry's, which made things more difficult. She had almost no idea how to separate the signatures. "Scorpius, hold on... Hold on."

Draco collapsed into a chair, body shaking violently, hands clutching at his hair, tearing at it as tears leaked past his eyes, legs unable to support him as sobs racked his chest. F-Fuck- Scorpius...! Why hadn't they been more careful?

Moments passed, Draco's body slowly calming, his breathing shallow and weak.

The door opened.

Hermione walked out. Took one dreadful look at him. And shook her head.

Draco's body froze.

"It was... There was too much magic in the room. I couldn't separate it or dissipate it without getting rid of Harry's magic. He should've waited before going... I..." She pushed her hair back with a quivering hand. "I'm so sorry, Draco. The room was rendered unstable and he just couldn't take it."

Scorpius is dead?

Hermione's weary glances at him confirmed all his thoughts.

His son was dead, gone.


	20. Swaar & Sutton Beauty

Chapter 20

_ Swaar & Sutton Beauty _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

Harry could've very easily set the entire Ministry on fire. Throw up an out of control Fiendfyre - because he'd seen what those could do - and just let it tear down the entire place. No more stupid laws and now more stupid officials telling him he needed to get patted down before he went in.

"I don't have time for this!" he snapped and simply blew past them all, ignoring the shouts of "Auror Potter!" that followed him all the way to the back of Level Three.

"Auror Potter," a familiar voice mimicked. "Auror Potter, come back here for your check. Auror Potter, Auror Potter."

"Come off it, Ron, tell me what's going on."

"I don't know what's going on. Kingsley and a few Department heads are having a meeting and Kingsley wants you to join. He says he sent an owl, but the letter came back unopened."

"I never got a letter. You know where we've been the past two days."

"I know." Ron handed him the stack of papers and shoved him through a doorway he hadn't seen before. "Just go!" he called, but his voice sounded much further away than it was.

Harry followed the advice and didn't ask questions, pushing through until he came across a large table and normal-sounding voices. Kingsley Shacklebolt rose. "Ah, Auror Potter. I wasn't expecting you."

"I'm not going to be here long." He checked his watch worriedly. "I can't be. I just need you to sign these, Minister."

Kingsley took the papers, lifting a brow. "Auror Potter," he began and Harry's heart sank, "these should be signed by-"

"He won't do it. Ron's tried and the man hates me. Just sign them. Please. Or a little boy's going to die. My little boy."

"Scorpius Malfoy," and both brows lifted at the last name, "is yours." There was clear disbelief in his tone.

Harry's back straightened, eyes flashing angrily. "He's my son. I don't care if it isn't by law yet."

"Or by blood adoption." There was a murmur from the other witches and wizards at the table and Harry recognized the tones of shock and disapproval. "Harry-"

"Kingsley, please. It's a medical emergency. Hermione has it all written out, but there is literally no time for me to sit here and explain everything to you. He'll die if I'm gone for too much longer."

"Blood adoption is just as potent a killer. There's a reason why it's outlawed."

"I know! But this is our only chance of saving him! Kingsley. Kingsley, please don't let my son die. Just trust me. Please. Trust Ron, Hermione, and me. You know our word is good." Harry ran a hand through his hair, letting the absolute need shine through. "Dumbledore always knew that too. If he could trust us at seventeen, you can trust me now."

"I don't like this."

"I don't either, Kingsley. But if it saves my son, it's worth it."

"And if it doesn't?"

Harry closed his eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. "I have to believe it will. But if it doesn't, it isn't on your head. It's on mine."

There was a tense moment before Kingsley nodded. "Alright. There are witnesses here who heard you say that." He retrieved a quill and signed every page where Hermione had specified, handing them back in order.

"Thank you, Kingsley." Harry took the pages with trembling hands. "Thank you so much."

Kingsley nodded, waving Harry away. "Go. Save the boy. And good luck, Harry."

With a nod, the brunette turned and ran from the room, not pausing for even a moment, not even to make sure that Ron was by his side. He needn't have bothered anyway. "So where to now?"

"We'll floo to St. Mungo's, apparate to Scorp's hallway from there."

"So he signed them?"

"Yeah." He cast a quick tempus charm, studied the time. "Shite," he breathed and sailed into an office with a private floo connection. He didn't even bother to explain himself to the flustered wizard at the desk within, grabbing some powder and tossing. "St. Mungo's!" he shouted and was through. Before he'd even had time to steady himself from the landing within the hospital, he turned on his heel and apparated.

He nearly landed right on top of Draco. "What're you doing out here?"

Nearly twenty minutes had passed from Scorpius's final breath and Harry's arrival. Draco sat, slumped and unmoving against the chair he had collapsed into. His eyes were vacant, his breathing just a simple inhale and exhale, his hands lay limp between his legs. When Harry collapsed against his feet, Draco jumped back with a violent shock, heart plummeting in his chest as if he jumped off a cliff into roaring waves below, into darkness. His eyes were vacant, his gaze hollow of emotion.

"Draco! What are you doing out here?" Harry repeated, standing up clumsily, large stacks of paper gripped in his shaking hands.

"Scorpius is dead." The words were hollow to even his own ears, no thoughts swimming through his brain except memories... Draco's memories of his little boy. Of when Scorpius was just born, and he held his beautiful, beautiful little body in his hands, no bigger than a bowtruckle. Of when Scorpius would rush into his bedroom in the morning with a house elf not too far behind, just to show his daddy and mummy a few new bits of magic he had already learned, or to make sure his daddy was up for his birthday. ...when he would wake up in Harry's arms with Scorpius between them... Fast asleep and dreaming... Like all five year olds should.

"Mr. Malfoy? Would you like to hold your son?" The healer asked calmly, a blue bundled blanket held carefully in her arms.

Draco stood quickly from his chair, carefully, quietly, as not to wake Astoria who lay sleeping in the pristine white bed a few feet away. Reaching his arms out to the healer, with a small, firm nod, his son was placed into his arms for the first time. Draco glanced down, his breath catching in his lungs, his heart catching in his throat. Tears built in his eyes instantly. Slowly slinking back into the uncomfortable hospital chair as not to jostle the precious, precious boy in his arms, the new father lifted a hand and gently moved the soft blue blanket back. Pale skin and rosy red cheeks, a little button nose and soft, pursed lips accompanied by pudgy cheeks and little fingers and short tufts of stark platinum blonde hair. "Oh you are... so beautiful," Draco whispered quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to his son's head. Thirty six hours in the hospital, from the beginning of Astoria's labor, to the checkups for his son, were all worth it the moment his lips touched achingly soft skin, his hold on his son tightening just-so. "You will be called Scorpius, my son." Draco combed a hand through his child's hair, content to just sit back and cradle Scorpius to his chest.

The minute Scorpius opened his eyes for the first time, Draco knew his world would never be the same.

...

"Daddy!" A voice squealed happily, a large thud resounding through the bedroom as Scorpius, now a rambunctious three year old, rushed inside and up to the bed, Draco instantly sitting up at the bang of the door, shaking the portraits against the wall. "Scorpius!" Draco gasped, a bright, tired smile rushing to his lips as he lifted his son up and placed kiss and raspberry's against his cheeks and stomach. "What are you doing up? It is so early!" And it was, Draco glanced over his giggling toddler's shoulder to the floor to ceiling windows against the east wall, noticing that the sun had yet to make a full appearance, barely rising against the horizon to the east.

"S'my bir-f-day dad'y! S'my bir-f-a-day!" Scorpius glanced up at Draco with ice-blue eyes, warm flecks of silver swimming around his pupils, eyes wide with merriment.

Draco gasped dramatically, standing, his sleeping shirt and pants adjusting themselves as he carried Scorpius out of the bedroom, Astoria sleeping pristine and quietly on the other side of the bed, refusing to wake before the sun was high in the sky; Draco could handle their son. He seemed to enjoy it anyway.

Draco spun Scorpius around joyfully, bringing the little boy to his chest for a morning peck on the forehead, Scorpius giggling excitedly, his baby blue blanket that he had refused to let go of from the hospital clutched tightly in his fist.

"It is!" Draco chuckled, running a hand through his own bed-head hair to get it out of his eyes as he walked Scorpius back to his room. "And how old are you?"

"Th-free!" Scorpius held up two fingers.

Draco's heart warmed as he walked towards the dark blue door, gently pushing it open and walking into the room, sitting down on the white and blue bed with his son in his lap. "Oh really? And what does today mean?"

"Presents! Presen's!"

That was the day Scorpius had received Perry, the little animal refusing to leave his side... even in death...

...

"Mm, good morning, love." A voice whispered huskily, warm lips pressing against his cheeks and molding against his lips.

A giggle was heard, causing Draco to crack his lids open, bright August sun pooling into the room and basking the beds occupants in warm summer sun. Emerald eyes met hazy with sleep silver and the two leaned in with a simple beat of the heart and their lips met.

"Good mornin'," Draco whispered against their lips, eyes sliding open and glancing down at a warm weight that moved against his chest. Pale against dark coloured sheets, Scorpius lay curled up against Draco's chest, his feet placed precariously on Harry's stomach, Perry clutched to his chest and his bright blue blanket wrapped firmly around his shoulders and pressed up against his nose. Draco's smile was instant, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his son's forehead.

"I love you Scorpius."

"We both do."

Draco glanced up, meeting Harry's eyes with a soft, loving smile, a simple curve of the lips. "Yes. We both do." That day, they spent the day in bed, tickle sessions, reading books, squeals of laughter and hearts bursting with hope. This was a life they could picture for years.

Who knew the light of both their lives would die a mere week and a half later...?

"What?" Harry's heart plummeted.

Draco's memories consumed him and Harry's own mind reeled.

Harry didn't have breaks often, didn't like to take them...

..."Scorpius!" he gasped.

He stood, cradling the child in his arms as Draco drew nearer. "Malfoy?"

"P-Potter?"

"A couple of boys pushed him. You saw it happen?"

..."Be careful!" Harry called automatically, glancing at Malfoy as they'd spoken simultaneously.

...What does he have?"

"We... we don't know."

…

The auror pulled his lover down onto the bed with him, grinning. He felt giddy, memories of the night before flooding him. "I am so bloody glad I was passing the park while you were there."

"You and me both."

"You're beautiful, you know."

Mm. I know."

He advanced a step, trapping Draco between the hard lines of his body and the equally unyielding wall. "I spent a lot of years shouting, Draco, a lot of years raging about things that were unfair. Now I can make differences because I know that shouting and rampaging only gets me so far. I'm going to take this through the right channels and this is going to stop. It's going to stop if you and Scorpius have to go under official auror protection. My auror protection." His eyes glittering dangerously. "Don't tell me I'm not angry about this."

…

"I-I..." He tried to swallow past the annoying lump in his throat. Wasn't this too soon? He had Scorpius to focus on, and making sure the public or the Prophet didn't catch wind of what was happening... He had- His thoughts froze, flashing back to his Hogwarts days of glaring across the Great Hall, wishing for the very same brunette to just turn around, to gaze at him once... His mind remembered, flashed behind his lids, sixth year, when all he could think about was the Dark Lord's mission and the ever omniscient question that lurked in the back of his mind of 'what would happen to Harry if I did this?' The hands in his tightened, beginning to pull away.

Fuck it.

"D-Didn't even bother buying me a ring, Potter?"

Harry lifted his gaze, eyeing Draco as carefully as he would a suspect. "You happened to mention one the other day. I happened to see one while chasing somebody. Maybe I did something a little insane like go back and buy it."

...

Harry's heart thundered painfully against his ribs, so loud he was sure Draco could hear it too. "I... I'm getting a hell of a man and his adorable son. And all that pesky baggage their carrying, but I have some of my own. I think that's an even deal."

"I better get a very fantastical wedding, Potter."

Harry blew out a breath, wandlessly summoning a small box from somewhere in the confines of his bedroom.

The ring was simple.

"You'll get one," he promised.

Draco stepped forward, pressing their almost naked bodies flush together and nicking the box from between Harry's fingers, gazing at it with fondness. "Very nice choice, Potter."

"A little unconventional, but we can look past that in light of the situation."

…

"Silly daddy, silly papa." Draco's heart warmed at the words.

"Silly son," Harry teased, holding his fiance close.

Titling his head, Draco's lips met Harry's in a soft kiss before a small clatter had them pulling apart, Draco's chuckles rumbling in his chest.

…

"P'pa? 'Addy?" A voice spoke quietly, the room falling silent as Scorpius shuffled into the room, rubbing at his eyes tiredly, a small blue blanket, fluffy and warm clutched in his hands, Perry's small plush body riding on the tail end of the blanket like a King. His cheeks were still red, as well as the tip of his tiny nose, his yawns sounding heavy with congestion as he shuffled over to hold his hands up towards Harry, eyes continually drooping shut.

"Oh, Scorpius, what're you doing up so late?"

"Can' sle'p..." Scorpius's head pushed against Harry's stomach as he clung to the larger male's hand around his waist.

"We need to do something Hermione. And fast."

…

"Ron, yes, we're here. What's going on? Is everything alright?" Draco could never recall who spoke first, or who said what, their hearts in their throats, pounding with nervous fear and anxiety.

"You two need to get to the hospital. Immediately."

"W-What? Why?"

"Scorpius. He's dying."

…

"Get me Healer Granger, immediately!"

"Merlin's pants," she snapped and covered the entire bed in a protective shield. They couldn't move him, but there was too much magic in the room. They'd been steady for two days...

Scorpius with his pale, almost translucent skin, matted blonde hair and emaciated body was seizing, back arching off the body, limbs twitching and spasming, mouth open in silent noises as his lungs tried to call in more air through magic-choked airways, his skin turning a sickly, pale green- blue- ashen white- purple...

"Why," Hermione shrieked, "were you outside?"

"Scorpius, hold on... Hold on."

"It was... There was too much magic in the room. I couldn't separate it or dissipate it without getting rid of Harry's magic. He should've waited before going... I..."

"I'm so sorry, Draco. The room was rendered unstable and he just couldn't take it."

…

Hermione's weary glances at him confirmed all his thoughts.

His son was dead, gone.

"Draco?" Harry's voice shook him from his thoughts. "He can't be dead!"

Draco's silent reply was like a knife dipped in poison to the chest.

"I wasn't..." Harry looked towards the door of the boy's room. "N-no... I got... I mean, they're signed. They're signed." He stared blankly at the documents in his hand. No...

A pale hand lifted, slowly sliding the papers from between calloused and tanned hands. "It is done, H-Harry." Draco's voice was hollow without emotion as he placed the papers at his side. "He is... gone."

"No," Harry whispered. He grasped Draco's hand, holding tightly. "He can't be."

"He is, Harry..."

"Hermione?"

She shook her head, sighing quietly. "Scorpius is gone, Harry. I've already recorded the time of death..."

He ran a hand through his hair, expression stricken. "I wasn't gone that long," he whispered.

"There was too much magic in the room... You should've waited for it all to clear out before you went anywhere."

"I h-had to..." He trailed off, took a ragged breath. "He can't be."

"Harry." Draco stood quietly, his clothes feeling like nails against his skin, his magic buzzing like tainted insects crawling in his skin, his heart felt like a punch in the gut; beating for the sake of the movement, the habitual repertoire in a life that just suddenly... didn't seem right. "He's gone... We j-j-just..." His voice was a mere whisper, his lungs not seeming to be able to give anymore push for air. His hand came to rest against Harry's arm, his engagement ring glinting like a slap to the face.

"We're getting married, Scorpius." Draco smiled, curling around the boy, fingers laced tightly with Harry's. "Harry is going to be your new papa."

The blonde's answering cheers had the five-year old colliding with Harry's chest, the kid happily snuggling down against his papa with small, exhausted chants of "I love you! So happy! Perry and Harry! Papa! Papa! Pa...pa... love you..."

"Love you too, Scorpius. I love you."

Harry stared at the ring, glanced at his own. "No," he repeated and his voice was a little stronger. "No." He pushed away from Draco and started to the room. "No."

"Harry!" Hermione called out, Draco's eyes wide as he stumbled back into his seat before he was up and off, dashing after the brunette with a twisting sense of foreboding nausea in his stomach.

Ignoring the witch and shaking off Draco's hand when it latched onto his arm, he shoved open the door and went in. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Scorpius.

Laying still and lifeless, Scorpius was a pristine picture of Malfoy elegance. Soft, platinum blonde hair, chopped and shaggy, framed his forehead. Pale skin, high cheek bones, straight nose and tapered chin that rested against an elegant neck... He was flawlessly beautiful. And dead. No rambunctious squeals of "Harry!" or "Papa!" No flushed cheeks and wide, toothy smiles, no bright silver eyes swimming with laughter... and no warmth. Scorpius's skin was pale, a translucent blue in the light that streamed in through the windows. Eyelids closed over wide, breathtaking eyes of a silvery ice-blue, Scorpius's face looked as if he were in a deep, deep sleep; untroubled by haunting nightmares, or terrifying images that woke his fathers years ago. His chest did not rise, or fall, nor did his hands grasp tightly at the unicorn resting against his lap. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy's body looked too small in the too big bed, and it lay unmoving as he rested in a death his parents had tried so long to prevent. Yes. No matter what the Wizarding World thought or knew, Scorpius's true parents were always to be one Draco Lucius Malfoy and Harry James Potter. Only if Scorpius could of been there when they wed.

Draco could imagine his bright, wide eyes and his thousand watt smile. The blonde clung despairingly to the doorway.

Harry made himself take a step forward, and another and another. He let his knees buckle when he reached the bed, dropping down onto it and laying his hand over Scorpius's. "Scorpius," he breathed, voice breaking. "This... this isn't right. This isn't supposed to h-happen..."

"H-Harry... W-we just..." Draco walked further into the room, sinking to his knees, the cold tile floor biting harshly through the fabric of his pants. Reaching out his hand, he laid it, shaking violently, against Scorpius's arm. Tears began building in his eyes instantly, his heart feeling the need to remind him that it was there, and that he had feelings, and tore itself to shreds in his rapidly rising and falling chest.

"Draco, this... N-no. This is wrong." Harry took both of Scorpius's hands in his. This couldn't be happening...

"H-Harry- It's- I-I-" Draco's hands were shaking violently, his vision blurring at a rapid rate, his heart tearing, sobs slowly building- his lips quivering-

Harry looked from Scorpius to Draco, his heart twisting in his chest. He'd promised. He'd promised Draco over and over again that everything would alright. He trembled, looking back down at the boy. Everything was not alright. Merlin, Scorpius hadn't even really been his yet. Not as far as anyone else was concerned and that wasn't right. This was his boy. He couldn't...

A tear splashed down, landed on Perry, and Harry realized with a start that it was from his own eyes. He lifted a hand, quickly dashing more tears away. He couldn't let this happen, but he... he didn't know what he could do. The boy was dead. His boy was dead. He gazed at Draco for a long moment and then shook his head. "I'm doing the bond."

There was a pause, a simple beat before Draco was jerking himself to his knees, clutching to the side of the hospital bed as if it would keep him rooted to the ground, as if he were to fly away. "W-What? H-Harry- You c-can't be serious?" Tears were pouring down Draco's cheeks, unknowingly to the blonde.

"Why the hell shouldn't I? He's our son!" It didn't matter that it was too late or... no. No, it wasn't too late. The thought was wild, but he clutched at it desperately. "Maybe..." He stared at Scorpius, hope snapping at him almost painfully. "Maybe. I told you not to give up, Draco. I'm doing it."

"Harry! Are you crazy?" Draco's heart tore violently. He wanted it to work, oh how he wanted it to work, those feeble thoughts of hope. "He's been gone-" He couldn't say it. He couldn't say that his son had died. "For the better part of a-an hour!"

Harry shook his head, gazing at Draco. "Then what could it hurt? Merlin, Draco, if there's a chance..." He couldn't say it aloud; if it didn't work, it'd be worse if he said it aloud. "I can't do nothing."

"H-Harry- I..." He glanced down at his baby boy, combing a hand through lack-luster locks. "P-Please Harry... J-Just..." Tears dripped down his cheeks and into the collar of his shirt. "L-Let him rest in peace... I... I c-can't put him through that much pain. Not now."

Harry rose and went to the other side of the bed, framed Draco's face in his hands. "There's still a chance. You can't give up, Draco. You can't. Don't give up on Scorpius."

He jerked away from Harry violently, stumbling back against the bed. "H-He is my son Harry! All he has been going through t-these past few months is pain! And n-now that he is finally- now that he is finally not, you want to go and put him through something that could kill him again? Make him go through agonizing pain, again? H-Harry-" Draco's shoulders shook, his face contorted into grievous pain. "Please."

"It won't hurt him. You don't know what it's like, Draco. I do." Harry reached out again, locking his left hand with Draco's. "This won't hurt him. And it won't work if you won't trust me. You have to."

"How do you know what this is like Harry? How do you know what it is like waking up everyday to see your son's ribs? To hear his cries in the middle of the night because all he wanted for his birthday was to go out and play, but he couldn't because he was too sick? Too frail? Or it was too hot out? How do you know what it is like waking up for the past year with the knowledge that your son was going to die?" Draco sobs racked his chest, his eyes narrowed, his lips pressed in a hard line.

"Haven't been I been living that since I met you? I wake up every morning to see them. I wake up wondering what he's going to ask to do and how I'm going to have to find a way to say no that won't upset him too badly. I haven't had to deal with it as long as you have, but..." Harry shook his head. "I don't love him any less than you do. I know what it's like to die and to come back from it. Nothing will hurt him. And maybe... If you love me enough to trust me with your son, with our son, we won't have to tell him no anymore."

"H-Harry... I..." The collar of his shirt was stained with the tears that still dripped warmly down his cheeks.

"I know you're scared. I know you love your son." Harry looked down at their hands, at their rings. "I know things don't always work out for you, but I'm asking you to believe in me. Just for a moment, Draco."

"I..." His fingers tightened against Harry's. "Harry... I..." Their hands dropped, Draco taking a few shaking steps back, his head moving back and forth, a small shake of his head. Eyes clenched shut, tears staining his clothes, heart breaking, hands shaking, Draco fell against the wall, sliding down onto the ground, knees quivering.

Harry knelt down in front of him. "Don't give up." He reached out, fingertips brushing Draco's damp cheek. "Hope can be terrifying, but it's okay. Don't give up on me or on Scorpius."

"H-How can you be so calm about this..."

"I don't know... Maybe because it has to be done. I was calm when I walked into the Forbidden Forest to die by Voldemort's hand. That had to be done, too, and I didn't think I was going to walk away from that."

"Harry..." Draco's head rested against his knees, his tears slowing down to leave stained tracks in their wake. "I can't lose my son again..."

"Then don't. Trust me." Harry cupped his chin and tilted his head back, determined emerald meeting grieving silver. "Some things are stronger than death, Draco Malfoy. So trust me."

"I've w-worked with death my whole life, Harry..." How can I trust you? How can I trust death? Draco's thoughts wandered through his head.

"My family has a very bad habit of cheating death. Have you met me? Hi, I'm the Boy Who Lived." Harry's tone was serious, despite the playfulness of the words. "I've done it twice. So let me do what I need to do in order to save our child."

Our child... our child... "..." His mouth opened, closed... But no words came out. You better know what you're doing Golden Boy... Draco's small nod was his only confirmation.

Harry framed his face in his hands, leaning forward to rest his brow on the other man's. "I love you," he whispered.

"'Ove you 'oo..." Draco's voice was weak, quiet, a complete change from the strong young Malfoy who braved hexes thrown at him in Diagon Alley only a week or so previous.

Harry drew his wand and pressed a warm kiss to Draco's lips before rising. He locked the door, wary of any unwelcome visitors and put up a ward that would probably get him in trouble later. He went back to the bed and sat on it, reaching a hand out to Draco. They'd never really figured out a way to contain certain parts of the blood adoption in conjunction with Scorpius's illness, but Harry could improvise. There was a cool part in his mind that seemed to know exactly what needed to be done.

"Come on."

A moment's hesitation, Draco wiped the tracks of tears from his eyes as his face dropped, a mask of cool indifference aching in its place. Their hands laced, and Draco was tugged up from the floor to lean against the edge of the bed, a mere foot from the head of his son. Dead. Unmoving.

"Sit," Harry murmured, adjusting himself to be on the opposite side of the boy. His hand didn't leave Draco's. "Just across from me, love. Yes, like that." He turned Draco's arm over when he was situated, the Dark Mark facing upward, his arm hovering over the child.

Harry lifted his wand and made an X over the Mark.

Draco watched on in silence, a small shudder rolling through his body as the Mark glowed, his skin slicing open with a small hiss. "Harry..."

"Just trust me."

"...I do." Their eyes met for a moment before Harry glanced back down at Draco's arm, blood beginning to pool and bubble against the tainted skin of Draco's infected arm.

Harry made a matching X on his own arm, reaching out and pressing his cut to Draco's, grasping his arm even as the burn became unbearable. He slowly lifted his gaze to the blonde's. "We don't have an official, but it doesn't matter. I love you. I'm bonding myself to you for life just like I'll do with Scorpius."

Draco's breath hitched, eyes flying wide as magic began to crackle and burst in the air, his arm stinging violently. "W-What- Harry!" Magic, bright and loud began to whip around the two, flowing through their arms and around their hands.

Harry didn't respond, trying to catch his breath through the pain and the magic.

Draco's gripped tightened on their arms, dragging Harry over the bed to press their lips together as their hair whipped against their faces and Draco felt the room swoon under the powerful combination of their magic. He ignored the skin peeling away against his arm, and the warm trickle of blood against his flesh, he ignored the stinging sensation as Harry's magic washed through his body, cleansing his own tainted core. He smashed their lips together, heart racing, pounding violently against his chest. "Harry, focus on me. Just me."

"I am." Harry clung to the blonde, dazed expression becoming determined again. "I love you, Draco."

He shuddered as the magic slowly began to settle, singeing into his arm like a fire hot pick branding an animal. "I love you-" His body jerked, his arm sealing itself with a painful snap and his skin neatly sowed itself together, the grotesque image of his torn open arm, limp flesh and bubbling blood slowly disappearing. Glancing between them, Draco's heart thudded for a moment.

Dancing in a small circle, sparks of crystal blues and deep, dark greens, warm oranges and bright yellows, was magic in its purest form. Bright to his eyes, Draco squinted, getting a small glance of what looked to be his and Harry's blood, the deep burgundy that completed the rainbow of colours, swaying in a tight ball in the center. The sight took Draco's breath away.

"H-Harry-! Hurry!"

"I am." His own arm sealed, he lifted Scorpius's. "I'm sorry about this, kiddo," he murmured and cut into the boy's arm as he had his and Draco's. The magic became almost blinding, surging into the child's limp body until it was simply gone and the little X healed.

There was a long moment of silence before Harry choked on air, not having realized he was holding his breath. He coughed, staring at Scorpius. Nothing seemed to have changed... "Please work," he whispered.

Moments of silence past, the room settling from the surge of magic, Draco's heart catching in his throat as the last drop of blood landed on his pants. "S-Scorp?" A small twitch of the boy's eyelid.

Harry laid a hand on Scorpius's chest, waiting to feel that steady rise and fall. "P-please work," he repeated. "C'mon, kiddo..."

Another pause, another achingly, desperately long moment.

The bed shook, Scorpius's body jolting up violently, his back bending- arching in an excruciating looking manner. Spasms racked his body, limbs refusing to sit still, body jumping around on the red-stained mattress, mouth opened in a silent scream.

Silence.

His body fell back, limp against the bed.

Silence.

A momentary heartbeat.

Scorpius jerked up with a violent inhale, throat and lungs rapidly trying to take in air, color returning to his cheeks almost instantaneously as his little hands came up to his throat, his breath wheezing as he tried to gather in oxygen.

Harry's hand found Draco's, clutching desperately. Bloody hell, it actually worked...

"S-Scorpius- Hermione! Hermione get in here!" The doors were still warded shut. Let alone, the two didn't know what happened outside of the room courtesy of their little magic ceremony.

Draco couldn't believe it! I-It- It had actually worked! Instantly lunging forward, barely at the beat of his heart, Draco wrapped his arms furiously around Scorpius's body, drawing him to his chest. "S-Scorpius- Oh Scorpius-!"

Harry laid a hand on Draco's back, the other wrapping tightly around the boy. "Let him breathe, Draco. Bloody hell..." Tears welled up in his eyes that he refused to let fall.

Scorpius, taking in overly large lungfuls of air, glanced up with hazy eye, yet oh so alive, at his papa and daddy for the first time in nearly two hours. "'Apa? 'A'dy?"

Harry's breath hitched. His eyes were... Fuck. "Sc-scorpius... Godric, Scorpius!" Harry's arms tightened around the pair of them, tears streaming as the relief rushed through him.

Flecks of forest green and warm gold were reflected in sharp mercury eyes, hazy with exhaustion stress. Scorpius's skin, once pale and smooth, thin and sickly was now smooth and strong to the touch, the muscle under his flesh renewed and healthy. Once pale like his father, Scorpius's skin was a few shades darker, as if he had been out in the sun all day instead of laying... once dead on a bloodied hospital cot.

Draco laughed through his 's platinum blonde locks had regained their luster, smooth and fine to the touch, and as pale as ever.

"S-Stubborn Malfoy hair."

Harry laughed softly. "Perfect little mix, isn't he? Merlin..." He pressed as close as he could to Draco's side, fingers running through the child's hair and down his back.

Scorpius's smile was bright, tired, yet bright. "'Apa? Da'y?" He mumbled again quietly, his voice hoarse.

"W-we're here, Scorp..." Harry pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head, heart twisting. "I love you so much, Scorpius."

The little boy began drifting off, curling up in Draco's lap, his fingers gripping loosely against Harry's shirt. "Y'u 'oo..."

"O-Oh Scorpius... Scorpius..." Draco's hands carted through soft blonde locks, tears dripping against his son's forehead as he pulled him close. "Y-You're alive, Scorpius... You're alive."

"Si'ly 'addy... 'f 'ourse..."

"I sw-swear to Merlin, Scorpius Hyperion Potter, if you e-ever-" Draco vast amounts of kisses, tear stained and shaking, against Scorpius face, the little boy's tired smile jerking at his heart.

The door to the room swung open, slamming against the door. Hermione huffed, storming in, her husband not too far behind her, his wand out as he'd had to disable the ward Harry had put on the door. "Oh I swear- You two!" She froze. "Scorpius!"

Harry looked up, grinning. "Yeah, he... The blood adoption."

Ron gaped. "You're kidding!"

Hermione rushed forward, instantly pushing Harry and Draco out of the way and pulling Scorpius forward, gently, against her chest. "Oh Merlin, Harry!" She gasped, "You have a lot of explaining to do!" Gently laying the tired boy, drifting in and out of sleep, back against the bed, she instantly ran tests. Mellow blues and light greens, a harsh red near his arm. "Oh my."

"The red...?" Harry was instantly on alert. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yes, it's... His magic is flowing. He's... He's excellent. As healthy as Hugo or Teddy, really." Hermione let out a surprised sounding laugh. "He's, well.. He's perfect."

Draco glanced down, eyes falling wide open. Once, where a grotesque skull once lay, mouth gaped open, eyes starring up at him, wide and soulless, now lay a simple mark, a simple circle where filthy black ink used to make home under his skin. Draco's laughter was shaking, relieving and exuberant.

Harry glanced down, gaze following Draco's before exhausted laughter bubbled over his lips.

The mark that lay where the Dark Mark once squirmed was a brown patch, dark against the pallor of his lover's skin... in the shape of an apple.

"O-Oh that's just..." Hermione chuckled quietly. "Do you mind if I run a few tests? Then I'll be out of your hair and I'll send up some food for you three. I assume you will be staying?" She took her wand out, barely without a confirming nod from either of the parents and began taking small readings from her wand, nodding her head and clucking her tongue approvingly.

Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder, letting his body go limp. Magical exhaustion was combining with absolute relief. "Draco," he whispered and his fingertips brushed over the new little mark. "Draco, we did it."

Hermione gave a small smile, cast a scourgify and muttered something about getting them food, to shocked to ruin the soft and quiet atmosphere. They truly did make a family. Turning with a quiet glare at Ron, the two exited, the door falling shut with a silencing spell behind them.

Moments passed, Draco's body aching, sagging against the pillows in quiet relief. Combing his fingers through Scorpius's hair, Draco smiled softly. "He's our little boy now."

"He always was." Harry dropped down, smiling, and nestled his nose into the boy's hair, his hand lifting to Draco's cheek. He had his family.

Slowly, ever-so slowly, Scoprius eyes peeled open. "Papa? Daddy?" His voice sounded sure and strong, his lungs sounding healthy to the ears; no congestion, no wheezing. A normal little boy.

"We're here, kiddo." Harry laid a hand over Scorpius's heart, smiling.

Scorpius snuggled happily against Harry's chest, cheeks flushed with life. "Love you."

"Love you too." Harry help him close, turning his arm to show him the little apple-shaped mark. "Look, Scorp. You see that? That means we're a family."

The boy's tired smile had Draco's heart jerking in his chest. Harry Potter. Family.


	21. Zuccalmaglio's Reinette

Chapter 21

_ Zuccalmaglio's Reinette _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

"-pa, Papa!" A voice giggled quietly, something jostling Harry's shoulder, slowly pulling him, begrudgingly, out of sleep.

Harry sighed, trying to go back to sleep. "Scorp, what're...?" He trailed off, opening an eye. Scorpius. Scorpius! With a wide grin, Harry reached out and dragged the boy close, clinging. "Morning, kiddo."

The little boy giggled, his cheeks red with life and happiness, eyes wide and bright. Warm silver mixed with flecks of green and gold, tanned skin flush and soft to the touch. Leaning happily against Harry's chest, the five year old grinned, placing a big, sloppy kiss against Harry's cheek. "G'morning Papa!"

Harry laughed, lifting him up to get a good look at him. His boy. His. And he was okay. He was really okay. What had Hermione said? Perfect. He was perfect. "I love you."

Scorpius glanced down, giggling. Sun-touched skin was warm to the touch, Scorpius reaching down with a curious gaze to run his fingers over Harry's cheeks. "S'da same." His skin was a few shades lighter than Harry's.

"Almost is, yeah. You'll understand why when you're older." Harry laid his hand over Scorp's.

Scorpius smiled as Harry laid him down back against his chest, the boy's giggles following him. "I love you, papa."

"I love you too. C'mon." Harry ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "Let's wake your daddy up too."

The reply was almost instant, Draco grumbling from where he was curled up at the edge of the bed, exhaustion in his tone. "Scorp'us Hype'ion Potter... go to sleep." To say Draco was exhausted would of been the worse understatement of someones life; he felt as if he had been hit with a broom, ran over by some centaurs and then given forty shots of Fire Whiskey laced with Sleeping Draught. His magic, cleansing itself and his magical core, the influx of the powerful filter that his love gave him with his blood left Draco tired, exhausted, and so thoroughly fucking happy. If he didn't know that he would collapse to the ground the minute his feet laid on the cold linoleum tile, he would be spinning around and laughing like a fool.

Harry blinked. "P-Potter...?"

Draco was drifting back to sleep almost instantly, Scorpius giggling and leaning the few inches over to pat his father's cheek. Leaning back, Scorpius blinked, poking Harry's nose. "You is Potter." And then he proceeded to poke his own button nose, eyes crossing to try and find his finger. "Me is Potter too." His grin was goofy and twisted as he tilted his head to find his finger. "Family." Scorpius dropped his hand, blinking to clear the blurriness from his eyes and glance down at Harry with loving silver eyes, little hands placed right over Harry's heart. "Silly papa."

"Silly son," Harry murmured, echoing himself. He rolled onto his side, depositing Scorpius on the bed between the two adults. "Stay here and keep guard, okay? I'm gonna go find Hermione."

The little boy blinked, tilting head head, hand reaching down to search for Perry's plush body. "Her-my-ninny?"

"Yeah. I want her to make sure we're all okay." Harry sat up and stretched before reaching out to ruffle Scorpius's hair.

Scorpius clung to the hand in his hair, a little hand wrapping tightly around the appendage as the other wrapped tightly around Perry's hoof. "Go with papa?"

Harry thought a moment, quickly deciding that he really didn't want to leave the boy behind. "Okay. Come on, kiddo."

Scorpius squealed with glee, arms looping around Harry's neck, Perry thumping against his shoulder. "Up! Up!"

"Shush now. You don't want to wake your daddy up. He's exhausted." And healed. Both his Malfoys were healed. Harry hugged Scorpius tightly, getting to his feet and bringing the boy along.

Scorpius giggled happily, glancing over Harry's shoulder. "Sorry, daddy!" He whispered what he thought was quietly.

Harry only grinned, carting the boy out. He looked around, walking up to a medi-witch who sat shuffling papers behind a large desk. "Hi. Could you tell me where I can find Healer Granger?"

"Second Floor. Magical Bugs and Diseases." She waved a hand dismissively, glancing up out of mild curiosity only to have her eyes widen. She stared for a long moment before clearing her throat. "Is that a lost child, Mr. Potter?" It looked similar to the ill boy he'd been taking care of, but... He was much too healthy.

Harry rolled his eyes. "No, this is my son. Thanks for the information." He carried Scorpius down the hall.

The blonde boy waved over his papa's shoulder, giggling as he re-wrapped his arm tightly around Harry's neck and rested his head on his shoulder. "People are silly, papa. Like you and daddy! 'xcepts you and daddy love each other."

"Yeah, we do. We love you too." And he thought it was pretty amusing that the medi-witch had forgotten that they were on the second floor. He looked around, smiling when he caught sight of bushy brown hair, but she was surrounded by two other healers so he hung back and let them talk.

"Well, what about the older boy?" Hermione asked.

The redheaded healer shook her head. "He won't tell us anything and the younger boy's incredibly sick. Dragon pox, isn't it?"

Hermione nodded, glancing down at the clipboard in her hands, flipping a few pages. "Yes. Older brother we're assuming is still with him. He refuses to leave the room. When were they brought in?"

"Two days ago. They were moved up here after Healers found nothing wrong but a case of Dragon pox." The other Healer replied, readjusting her bright red bangs out of her eyes.

"Okay. Thank you, Majel." Hermione sighed quietly, shifting from foot to foot, her hand resting on her belly. "So are we assuming death of the parents?"

"It's possible," the other healer put in. "We haven't been able to get anyone from the Ministry here yet to find out for sure, but we can't get the older boy away from his brother. He didn't seem to understand that dragon pox is contagious. And judging from how unkempt they were when they arrived..." He shrugged.

"That's why we were wanting your help, Hermione. We were hoping that you could separate them long enough for us to be able to treat the younger boy. The older one won't even let us touch him."

She nodded with a small sigh, running a hand through her bangs, her hair tied at a knot at the nape of her neck. "Thank you, Ma- Harry!"

"You're having trouble with a couple of boys?"

Hermione sighed, lifting a finger in warning. "None of that, Harry James Potter. You've already played hero, which we still have to discuss. I'm mad at you."

Which only meant she was trying to be, but she was really just wanting to scold him for being brash. "But Hermione-"

"No, Harry, just leave it for now. Hello, Scorpius."

The little boy giggled, wiggling violently out of Harry's arms and dropping to the floor, rushing over and clinging to Hermione's leg, Perry still clutched tightly in his little grasp. "Aunt Her-my-ninny! I is all better!" He giggled gleefully. "Tha'k you! Thank you- Fank yew!" Scorpius's eyes were wide with unshed tears and his cheeks were blushing with happiness. He truly looked like a healthy little five year old. No bones could be seen, no vacant expressions of exhaustion, no limp hair and weak limbs... This was how the boy was supposed to be. Beautiful. With two extraordinary parents.

Hermione looked down. "Oh..." Harry smiled, lifting Scorpius up. Hermione reached out and framed his little face in her hands, studying him carefully. "You're just a beautiful little boy, aren't you?" She looked over him carefully, lifted her wand to scan him. "And your eyes..." She smiled up at Harry. "Alright, maybe I'm not mad at you."

He grinned. "So he's alright still?"

"Yes."

A training-healer ran up. "Healers Arturio and Roderich! Are you available? We need you in 212."

The other two healers paled and ran off, Hermione checking her clipboard. "Oh. It's the boys..." She went after them, only sighing when Harry followed.

"-Let me go!"

"Calm down! Please- We are just trying to-"

"NO!" Hermione vanished her clipboard, as quickly as she could, rushing into the fray.

A boy, no older than ten was wrestling with two well built healers, his limbs tugging and jerking, his yells echoing down the hallway. "No! No! Let me go! I need to be with my brother!"

Harry dropped Scorpius down. "Stay," he ordered. "If you don't, you'll get... grounded or something. But stay." He went after Hermione, eyes on the dark-haired boy. He could understand the need to protect the boy, but making him hate healers at the same time didn't seem to be the way to go.

Hermione managed to get into the hospital room before it slammed and locked and Harry went to the healers. "Oi! Stop it. Stop dragging him like that."

Though before he could stop it, one snapped out his wand and froze the boy in place with a quick body-bind. "There. Bloody hell. Little git."

"He's not a git," Harry snapped. "He's worried about his brother."

"His brother's extremely contagious and if he isn't cured, he'll die."

"And did someone tell the boy that?"

"He wouldn't have listened."

Harry's blood boiled. They didn't have any right to make that call or take a boy from his only family - if the healers had been right and they really were orphans. Judging from the tattered state of his clothes and his holey shoes, he was at least homeless. His heart stirred. It wasn't right to treat them like this. "Leave him be. I'll take it from here. Healer Granger's orders." And that last bit was stretching it a little, but she hadn't sent him off.

The two exchanged looks and dispersed, one of the Healer's holding the boy, refusing to relinquish the body-bind till he was in capable hands, and preferably not his own. "Whatever you say, Auror Potter."

The boy, frozen against the Healer's body was fairly tall, broad shoulders and a lean waist. His hair was the color of the trunk of a tree, and just as tangled and messy, as if he continually ran his hands through the locks. His eyes, wide open in fear, anger- desperation, were a sharp grey. Dressed in a dull red shirt, torn and frayed, and torn denims, he looked like he had just come off the street, except for the fact that his tanned skin was clean, his teeth- from what people could see from his frozen scream- were white and he looked rather fit.

Harry took the boy from the Healer. "I've got it from here."

Scorpius stayed put, glancing on in confusion, Perry being picked nervously by his fingers. Who was that boy?

The Healer gave a nod, turning and walking away, grumbling in irritation.

Harry swept the boy away into an empty waiting room. "Come on, Scorpius."

The little boy scuttled in behind his father, the door shutting quietly behind them with a click. "P-Papa? Who's 'hat?" He rushed up as Harry set the other boy down, peeking from behind his leg. "S'he okay?"

"It's hard to explain, Scorpius. We'll take care of him, though." He shut the door and settled the boy down. "Finite," he murmured.

"-et me go!-" The boy shot up instantly, mouth wide with a scream, brow furrowed in frustration. He paused, glancing around cautiously. "Who're you?" He sneered, hands clenching at his sides.

The man dropped down to the boy's level. "I'm Harry Potter and this is my son," and the words gave him a little thrill, "Scorpius. I heard that your brother's very sick."

The boy tilted his head, glancing over the tip of his nose at the boy, his face adopting a haughty expression of indifference. "So? What's it matter to you?"

"It matters that they were dragging you from him without telling you why. I've got a friend with him now who's making sure he'll be alright. And then you'll be able to see him again."

He froze. "Really?" His voice sounded as if he might just believe them. "And... Are you..." He fidgeted, eyes darting around as Scorpius shuffled closer. "You really Harry Potter?"

Harry smiled, lifting a hand to brush his bangs back. "Yeah. And I think I can help you and your brother, but only if you answer a few questions."

Scorpius grumbled something, tugging on Harry's pant leg and pointing up to the bed with the same hand, Perry clutched to his chest. "Up papa, up."

"Papa?" The boy questioned. Father, sure. Dad, sure. Papa?

Harry glanced up, still smiling. "It's what he calls me. He calls his other father 'daddy.'" Harry lifted Scorpius up. "Do you mind if he sits with you?"

He shook his head, brow furrowing in cautious. "Other... father? Like... You... are...um..." The boy ducked his head, a blushing pushing across his cheeks in irritation. "Yeah. Sure." He moved over to press himself against the pillows, knees curling against his chest. "Do I get to see my brother yet?"

"When my friend comes in here, you can." He settled Scorpius down, brushing a hand through his hair fondly. "And, yeah, I'm gay."

The boy nodded, rubbing his cheeks furiously to hide his blush as he glanced at the other boy. "O-Okay..."

"Hi!" Scorpius waved happily and held Perry out. "S'Perry and I'm Scorp'us! Who'e you?"

"J..." He tilted his head, blinking curiously, the anger slipping away from his expression, the cautious tension leaving his shoulders. "M'James." He paused at a sharp inhale of breath, blinking, before turning back to the blonde boy before him, jerking back at the plushie shoved in his face as he gazed at it with open curiosity. "S'that a unicorn?"

"Yup!" Scorpius giggled and proceeded to recall the tale to the older boy about how Perry came to be and what they did for the whole week; feeding him pancakes, swimming with him, saving Perry from a very- he stressed the word, nodding his head to affirm his own thoughts- vicious Horklump and a gnome.

Harry leaned back, watching them with a fond smile even while his mind raced. The boy's name was James. He wondered what his younger brother's name was, where there parents were, if they even had parents.

"-My papa and daddy loves me lots! Where is you parents?" Scorpius tilted his head curiously.

"You parents? You mean 'your'?"

The child blushed as James corrected him with a fond smile, patting the blonde locks patiently, actually seemingly interested in what the child had to say.

"My parents... Ah... well..." James lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his neck with a sad expression. "They're gone."

Harry looked over. "I'm sorry, James. So it's just you and your brother?"

He nodded carefully. "Yes... Mother and father..." The boy gave a small shrug, his hands dropping to fiddle with the hem of his shirt.

"How long have you been on your own?"

He shrugged once more, eyes darting to the windows that lined the wall, taking in the leaves and the clear sky. "F'w weeks..."

Harry blew out a breath. "And no one else could take care of you boys?"

James shook his head, fidgeting nervously as Scorpius laid a tiny hand against his arm. "S'ok! You... You..." Scorpius glanced around, biting his lip. There had to be something! He clutched Perry tighter in his... Scorpius glanced down. That was it! Leaning forward, he placed Perry in James's lap. "You has Perry to protect you!"

Harry lifted his brows, surprised, but a small smile broke across his face. "Good choice, Scorp. Perry's a great protector."

The little blonde boy chuckled, clapping his hands. "He can protects you from lots of things!"

James nodded, gently picking up the unicorn and staring into its eyes. "My brother will like this."

"What's your brother's name, James?"

"Well," James grumbled something, head ducking lower as if he wanted a hole to appear in the bed and swallow him up. "He uh..." The boy mumbled his words quickly.

Harry reached out and gently touched the boy's hand. "What do you call him?"

"Al."

Well, that was... absolutely amazing. "Okay. Do you have any questions you want to ask me, by the way? I'd rather have a conversation. Interrogation's really aren't that fun."

"Um..." James bit his lips, glancing around with a nervous sort of lilt. "Are you really in'a relationship with D-Draco Malfoy? I-I saw it in the Prophet once and-" His hands fumbled with Perry.

"Was it in the Prophet?" Great. He'd have to actually get a copy of the bloody paper. "Yeah, I'm in a relationship with him. Aren't I, Scorp?"

Scorpius giggled, nodding his head vigorously. "Yes! Yes! Papa and daddy love each others lots! They is getting married!"

James's eyes widened. "I'm sorry- I didn't know you didn't know abo-about the artic-" Great. He was such an idiot, flubbing in front of Harry Potter. He... he had Al to worry about.

"Don't worry about it. I don't pay much attention to the Prophet on the best of days." Harry grinned, hoping to put the kid at ease. "You know my godson's about your age. His name's Teddy."

James perked up. Another kid? How many did Harry Potter know? "R-Really?"

"Yup. D'you know what a metamorphmagus is?"

James perked up, Perry falling to the way-side, Scorpius scrambling to grab him with glee. "Perry!"

"Really! What can he change?"

"Right now just a few things. He's still learning to control it all the way. But he's always changing his hair and he can do things with his face. It was a couple of months ago-" back before his world had been turned upside-down- "that he first started doing that. He sprouted whiskers out of nowhere one day."

Scorpius giggled as Jame's face split into an uneven grin. "That is- So cool!"

There was a quiet knock against the room's door. "Harry?" Hermione knocked once more.

The wizard rose. "I'll be right back, kids." He went to the door and slipped out, only smiling before receiving one of Hermione's stern looks.

"Harry," she began warningly.

"How's his brother?"

She paused for a moment, light brown eyes searching for something in Harry's wide emerald eyes. "...He's fine. Stable. His skin is clearing up and the pock-marks are gone." Crossing her arms over her chest, Hermione gave a small sigh. "He is asleep right now, but he will be waking in less then an hour and will be demanding to see his brother. ...What are you doing with him Harry? What are you planning in that saving-everyone head of yours?"

"Well... Nothing, really. I'd have to ask Draco about it all. Right now, Scorpius and I are just talking to him. His name's James," he added, knowing Hermione would understand the significance. "And his brother is Al."

A small glimpse of shock passed over her face. "James and... Oh Harry, you can't-You just got Scorpius back and..." With a small sigh, Hermione tilted her head, as if looking at Harry from that angle would make it easier for her to understand him. "Just... I hope you know what you're doing. Ron is going to have a fit."

"I know he is. So's Draco for that matter." Harry scrubbed a hand through his hair, smile sheepish. "But c'mon, Hermione, what're the odds of me coming across two boys with those names? And James says that his parents are dead, and... Well, if there's no one else to take care of them, I don't want them to end up in foster care when Draco and I are perfectly capable of taking care of kids."

"Harry, you don't know that. I know Andromeda aways said you could have Teddy when you settled down with someone. You'll have four boys to take care of, and you've just rescued Scorpius..." She sighed. "Draco might not even want to deal with more than one child, let alone four."

The wizard sighed, leaning back against the door. "I know... I told you I'd have to talk to him. Bloody hell, I haven't even had a chance to tell him we'd be taking on Teddy..."

"Papa?" Scorpius peaked out from behind the door, hands gripping the edge tightly. "James is 'sking for Al."

"Okay, kiddo."

Hermione sighed. "If he'll let me put a protective spell on him, he can go in. The dragon pox is still contagious, but it isn't as bad thankfully."

Scorpius giggled happily, rushing back inside with a childish 'woosh!' and went to tell James the news.

Harry tucked his hands in his pockets, sighing. "I guess I'll just make sure James gets in to Al and then I'll go see if Draco's up."

Hermione nodded lightly, reaching forward to rest a hand against his arm. "Just be careful, okay, Harry?"

"I will," he assured her, laying his hand over hers. "Come on and meet James."

She chuckled, giving a nod of her head. "Okay, okay, fine. Go on, your son is waiting." The thought gave Hermione a moment to just pause. Harry seemed truly happy for the first time since... Well... awhile. Since Ginny. Since before all the things with Theodore Nott started. Hermione moved her hand out from below Harry's, stepped forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a firm but quick hug. "I'm so proud of you, Harry."

"Hermione..." He hugged her back, squeezing as tightly as he dared. "What in the world are you proud of me for?"

She pulled away with a small smile, dabbing at her eyes. "Blame the pregnancy hormones." She leaned forward for another quick squeeze before pulling away once again. "You're just... You're finally happy. Ignoring the fact that it's Malfoy and his son who have you wrapped around their fingers," she glanced down at his ring. "You're finally happy. So we're happy too."

"Well, worse people have had me wrapped around their fingers." Harry smiled, following her gaze. His smile warmed. "But you're right. I am happy. I'm so glad I have them."

Hermione chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, the Weasleys will definitely want a talk with them, but that is neither here nor there. Now, your son is waiting for you, and I need to check on my patient, so lets not keep them waiting," she gestured to the door, the hand returning to her round stomach instantly. "Shall we?"

"Yeah." Grinning, Harry went back into the room. "Hey, James? My friend Hermione'd like to meet you."

The little boy glanced up from his curious interrogation of the plush unicorn in his lap, Scorpius chattering happily from the wide, cushioned chair in the corner of the room, having been unable to get himself atop the bed once more.

"Um... Okay."

"She's going to tell you what's going on with Al, alright? I'll stick around if you want me to."

James nodded, picking up Perry and placing him next to him, crawling towards the edge of the bed and swinging his legs over, to sit facing the Healer. Scorpius rushed off the chair, feet touching the ground and practically gliding on air over to Harry, gliding over with a happy cry of "Papa!" and his arms out stretched.

Harry swept him up. "We'll go back to daddy after we get James and Al situated, okay?" he murmured, fondly nuzzling the boy.

Scorpius giggled happily, James watching on with a small pang, rubbing his chest irritatedly.

Scorpius gasped. "Aunt Her-my-ninny! Sit! Baby in your belly!" He wistfully commanded, giggling, amused at her answering expression as she walked over to James at the edge of the bed.

Harry settled in the chair Scorpius had vacated, son settled comfortably in his lap, while Hermione smiled at the boy. "Hello. James, was it? Do you have a last name?"

The boy gave a small shake of his head, brown locks falling to wisp against his nose. "No." He fidgeted nervously under her analytical gaze.

"Okay, that's alright. Harry told me your little brother's name is Al. Is that right?"

James nodded, eyes glancing around the room slowly. Would they separate him from Al? What would happen to him? Would they be given over to the Ministry? He fidgeted again, fingers picking at the shabby fabric of his trousers.

Scorpius rested his head against Harry's shoulder, arms tight around his neck as he watched the scene with silent curiosity, body warm and strong against his papa's.

"Alright, then. Well, Al had a very contagious disease called dragon pox. I'm very sorry that you were dragged out how you were, but we needed to get in and cure him. Right now, he's asleep, but he's doing much better. And he'll be alright by morning tomorrow."

James nodded slowly. "Okay... Can I..." His soft grey eyes darted up to Harry's face and to Scorpius's, his own twisting in a mixed confusion of emotions. "C-Can I see him?"

"Yes, but he's still contagious. We don't want you getting sick, too. If you'll let me do a spell on you that'll keep you protected from the germs."

Harry gave him an encouraging grin. "She won't hurt you."

A slow nod, becoming more firm after a few seconds. "O-Okay." He coughed. "Okay, that's fine. When can I see him?" An eager feeling began bubbling in James's chest. He missed Al. He wanted his family. ...Like what Scorpius and Mr. Potter- Harry had.

"Just as soon as I perform this spell, I'll take you to his room. And no one will ask you to leave again unless it's very important, alright?" Hermione lifted her wand, but waited for his response.

The boy gave a small nod, hands clenching imperceptibly against his trouser leg.

Hermione offered a gentle smile before casting the bubble spell. It surrounded him, clinging to his body like a second skin. "Alright, there we go."

Scorpius giggled, amused, pointing a small finger at James who glanced around his body, confused, hands held out to his sides. "I has that once!"

James, silver eyes cautious, curious, glanced up. "You what? You speak just like Al..."

"They seem to be about the same age," Hermione agreed. "My son Hugo is their age, too. Which reminds me, Harry, Ron says that whenever Scorpius is ready to see them, Teddy and Hugo are both very eager to see him up and about."

Scorpius gasped, head shooting up, almost clocking Harry in the jaw with his bright blonde head. "Te'y! 'ugo!" His eyes, wide and ecstatic glanced up at Harry. "Papa!"

Harry chuckled, ruffling his hair. "You can see them soon. Let's just make sure James gets to Al and then Hermione'll floo Ron."

Scorpius leaned forward, hugging Harry around the neck tightly. "Yay! Papa! Play! Thank you!"

James watched on with a tortured gaze.

Harry caught sight of the look, his heart going out to the boy. He really needed to talk to Draco. Rising, keeping Scorpius in his arms, he offered a smile. "Well, spell's done. Let's get him in with Al, yeah?"

Hermione rose from the bed with Harry's help. "Yes. We should."

A few minutes later, James bounding out of the door at rapid speed, found the small group in front of a plain white door. "...Is he really that sick?" James paused, tanned hand halfway up to the door to give it a small push.

"He's doing much better than he was," Hermione assured him. "So it's a very, very good thing that you and he ended up here."

James's gaze glanced back up at Harry, Scorpius secured firmly in his arms, for a split second before the boy gave a small nod, took a deep breath, and pushed the door opening, slowly walking in.

Harry looked in on his younger brother, sighing quietly. He'd had a boy that little in a hospital bed just the day before and, again, his heart went out to them. Little Al was still faintly green, the ugly pock marks minimal. He was fast asleep, though, his chest caught in a steady rise and fall rhythm.

James slowly clambered onto the bed, lifting Al's body gently and sliding in under his brother, pulling him tightly against his chest. The rocking started almost instantly, James murmuring soft, pleading words to Al, 'wake up, Al,' 'I'm sorry... I-I should of protected you,' 'I love you... I'm sorry...'

Harry looked over at Hermione, who just sighed. "Do what you think is best, Harry. But don't make any decisions before you speak to Draco."

He glanced down at Scorpius then. "Hey," he murmured, "why don't you stay here and keep them company?"

The child blinked. "Okay, Papa." Wiggling out of Harry's arms, he dropped to the floor, shuffling to the door with Perry clutched to his chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes and touched Scorpius's shoulder. "One second." She cast the bubble charm around him as she had with James. "I don't want you getting sick after you just got better."

Harry smiled sheepishly at her before looking at the two brothers. "James? Scorp's gonna stick around here for a little bit. Okay?"

The boy jerked his head up, shocked at the fingers that stayed near the door, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. Lifting a hand, and sniffling, he wiped a few stray tears away from his cheeks, clutching Al's small body to his chest. Pale brown hair, sallow skin, looking untouched by the sun, Al was smaller than his brother, weaker looking, slightly green. "O...Okay."

Harry went in, sweeping Scorpius up and settling him on the bed. "Don't worry," he murmured. "Everything's going to be okay, James."

Scorpius crawled over to sit next to Al's side, glancing down at the other boy with a curiously... quiet expression. "S'your brother?"

James glanced over at Scorpius with a slow nod. "Yes."

"He looks like my daddy. S'all pale."

Harry smiled at them, bending to press a kiss to his son's cheek. "I'll be back soon," he promised.

Scorpius nodded quietly, pressing himself against Harry's chest for a quick hug. "Okay. Loves you papa." The boy mumbled, dropping his arms and turning back to the two brothers, watching silently with unabashed eyes of silver.

"Love you too, kiddo." Harry gave his hair a final ruffle, not really wanting to leave at all. But he did want to see Draco. He laid a hand over the apple-ish mark on his arm. He really wanted to see Draco. "Be back soon," he assured them all again and made himself walk out, ignoring the look Hermione gave him.

-

A soft weight settled against Draco's back and shoulders, the warmth slowly lolling him out of the drawls of sleep, his mind breaking through the haze of unconsciousness. "-aco." A voice whispered softly, quietly to his sleep sensitive ears.

"Draco, love, wake up." Warm lips were brushed over the back of his neck. "I need to talk to you."

Sleep-fogged silver eyes slowly opened, Draco's face slowly warming into a soft, morning grin. "Why 'ello 'here." Draco gazed at Harry tiredly, the Boy Who Lived wrapped firmly around the Slytherin, arms and legs entangled, hair tickling against his chin and neck.

Harry smiled, nuzzling into his neck gently. "Hello back," he murmured. "How do you feel, love?"

Draco rolled over to press himself against Harry and curl up against his chest, eyes drooping in content exhaustion. "Tired." His thoughts slowly broke through the haze of sleep.

Harry chuckled quietly, stroking Draco's hair. "Just tired? Not hurting or anything like that?"

Leaning into the touch, an arm snaked its way around Harry's waist. "Jus' 'ired... Arm kind' 'urts..." Draco's lips parted in a waking yawn, deep in his chest. Bloody hell, why was he so tired? What did he do yesterday that made him feel like he got ran over by a drago-... Draco jerked up immediately, eyes going wide. "S-Scorpius! Harry!" He glanced down, silver eyes wide with recognition as his gaze darted around the room, heart sinking, a foreboding feeling his chest. "Scorpius- Harry-"

"He's fine, really. I took him to Hermione when we woke up and she made sure." Harry grinned widely. "Scorpius is perfect."

There was a moment's pause, Draco's shoulders sagging in relief before he smacked Harry near violently upside the head. "You bloody idiot! What the fuck was that yesterday?" He sat up, glaring daggers at the stupid, stupid Gryffindor as memories of the bonding, Scorpius's heart restarting, the small, tense moment... His eyes opening for the first time. "You could of gotten yourself killed! Or me! There was a chance it couldn't have worked! Yet you s-stupid Gryffindor- You went through with it anyway! What the bloody fucking Merlin were you thinking, Harry?" Another rough hit to the head, his hand shaking. "I could have lost you! I could have lost both of you! And to what? Your stupid Gryffindor brashness?"

Harry rubbed his head where he'd been struck, rolling his eyes. "It did work, though. Instead of losing Scorpius, he's alive. More importantly, he's healed."

"Don't roll your eyes at me Harry James Potter, especially me. What kind of idiot goes and does a Blood Adoption bond on a dead body, expecting it to work none-the-less?" He glared down at the brunette, hands clenching against the hospital sheets tightly.

"The desperate kind?" Harry ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Draco, the shock is usually deadly, right? That's what the books kept saying. Well... who's to say it wouldn't bring him back if he were already gone?"

The blonde ran a hand through his hair, his heart twisting in his chest. "Harry, love, I get that... But I could have lost you. Look at this from my perspective. Dead son, love of my life trying to save my dead son using deadly means. I think I warrant the right to hit you for the next few years of our marriage."

"Seeing how it did work, you're welcome. You didn't lose me or Scorpius. And this," he turned Draco's arm over, "has been replaced by something a lot better. We all survived, Draco."

Draco sighed, rolling mercury hued eyes, emotions deflating to a content, peaceful lull in his chest. "You stupid Gryffindors and your... your... stupidness."

"At least my stupidness worked out in the end."

Draco grumbled something about shutting up Potter, and being a twit, and leaned down, sealing their lips in a searing kiss, hand coming up to tangle in dark brown locks.

Harry poured himself into the kiss, fingers curling into Draco's shirt tightly. Relief and love and sheer need flooded from him.

Draco leaned down, pressing himself chest to chest with his lover, fingers threading tightly in his hair. "The minute we're married Potter," Draco pulled away, tugging Harry's head lightly to the side and kissing down his stubbled jaw, "will be the happiest fucking day of my life." He gave a harsh nip to Harry's smooth neck. "Some of the nurses have been giving you too many looks." Draco kissed over the harsh nip softly.

"They can look all they want. I have no interest in looking back. Besides, an actual marriage is just a formality now." He pressed a kiss just below Draco's ear. "We're bonded."

A shudder ripped through Draco's body, his heart pounding earnestly in his chest. "D-Damn. There go all my life plans. Tempted to travel the world with my son and see the sights, but now," he leaned down, pressing open-mouthed kisses against Harry's neck, fingers tracing patterns against his scalp. "Here I am. Bonded to a Gryffindor."

"Mm. Such a shame. Maybe if you use some of that Slytherin cunning on him, you'll convince him to take you and your son around the world to see the sights. He's probably accumulated a couple of months worth of vacation time, at the very least."

Draco pressed his lips over Harry's with a tempting hum of pleasure. "I think I just might be able to sum up some old Slytherin cunning and convince him to take his son and his husband somewhere around the world for his sixth birthday."

"That is coming up soon, isn't it?" Harry nibbled softly on Draco's lips. "I'll put in the time for it. But, ah, it probably won't be just us. If you want, I suppose. It depends." He couldn't imagine Andromeda turning down continuing to raise Teddy, no matter their agreement. Explaining about their potential family growth - James and his little brother included - seemed a lot more daunting, suddenly, than performing a blood bond.

Draco gazed into Harry's eyes, his own swimming with confusion as the motions of his fingers against Harry's scalp ceased. "What do you mean? Do you mean Teddy? Or Hugo? Or even Luna? Scorpius seems to enjoy her company, after she continually kept calling him 'clone.' I don't think he would mind if any of them tagged along."

"I did mean Teddy, actually." He toyed with Draco's shirt, sighing. "I haven't exactly had time to explain this to you, but... Well, I'm Teddy's godfather. You knew that already, but... What happened was that after the war, Andromeda and I agreed that I would get my life together and she would take on Teddy. I was seventeen and nowhere near ready to take care of a baby. And, what with marrying you and all, my life is... together."

"And?" Draco's brow furrowed, a small feeling creeping into his chest. He had an inkling he knew exactly where this was going. "Now that your life is 'together?'"

"She and I agreed that I would take Teddy. I want to take him. I want to do what Remus and Tonks entrusted me with." Harry looked up, meeting Draco's gaze. "But that's up to you."

"Take him? As in..." Draco swallowed, heart stuttering in his chest. "Adoption?"

"Basically, yeah."

Draco's hands fiddled with a few pieces of Harry's hair, his face contorting in confusion as he seemed to absorb himself in his thoughts. "Blood Adoption or just... Regular?" Regular? Bloody Merlin, was he going stupid?

"No, love, of course not Blood Adoption. It's a bloody miracle it worked the first time." Harry averted his gaze. "If you don't want him, I'll tell Andromeda."

"N-No!"

Harry winced. That was more of a forceful rejection than he'd been expecting. "Oh."

Draco winced as well. "N-No- What I mean is... That came out completely wrong." He sighed quietly. "What I mean is, is that I would love to consider Teddy as a son, Potter. ...If he'll have me as a father, of course."

The brunette looked up. "Really?"

He cuffed Harry upside the head. "No. Because my charming personality just reaks Slytherin-type traits of lying and smuggling, Potter." He shook his head with a small grin, fingers tracing lightly down Harry's cheek. "Yes, I'm serious you great buffoon."

"You really should stop hitting me. You'll cause brain damage of some sort." Relieved, Harry dragged Draco's lips to his own again.

Draco's kissed back warmly, lips moving softly against Harry's. "You'll be fine. You've survived all these years through our legendary fights, I don't think a few hits with the back of my hand are going to cause more damage then what was already there."

"I suppose. I do have... one more thing, though." Harry leaned back, bit his lip. "Actually, maybe I should show you first."

"Harry," Draco sighed, exasperated. "You really should just be more upfront. I can't keep up all this elusiveness you have going on. I might start getting grey hairs."

"Your hair's more likely to go white," he mused and sighed at Draco's pointed stare. "Alright, alright. There's these two boys... and... their parents are dead. The one's Scorp's age, the other Teddy's. Their names are... James and Al."

Draco froze, mouth closing. "James and..." He gave a small sigh. Shite. He already knew Harry would most likely adopt the boys, his opinion be damned. It was like a sign from someone, somewhere, that these two boys were orphaned, and no less named the two names Harry specifically wanted. "You've already met with them, haven't you?"

"I came across them by accident... searching for Hermione with Scorp. And then these two idiots were forcing James from his brother and I couldn't just let that happen, Draco. So we talked to James while Hermione and the other Healers went about curing Al's dragon pox."

"...You left Scorpius with them. Didn't you?"

"He... Well... I couldn't leave them alone." Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Bloody hell, this was insane, asking his husband to adopt three young boys. "That wouldn't've been right."

"And asking me to adopt children after we just saved one of our own- Your first son- is?" Draco raised a light blonde eyebrow, silver eyes, looking ice blue in the dull hospital lighting gazed at Harry, guarded. No point in letting the Gryffindor Golden Boy know his thought process just yet.

"I know, Draco. It's... it's a hell of a lot to dump on you, but if they get thrown into the system... Godric, they could get split up! It's hard to find someone who'll take on two boys, especially since James is already ten. They might take Al since he's younger, but..."

"But what, Harry? Can you even handle three kids? Let alone four? At such young ages too? How do you know if James and Al will react very well to Teddy and Scorpius? How do you know that any of them will react well if Scorpius were to fall sick again? Or that he was Blood Adopted? Or that James and Al were orphaned, and Teddy is a Metamorphagus?"

"Well... James and Scorpius were getting along fine, and I did tell him about Teddy. And Scorpius's Blood Adoption... That's not something any of them would understand, and if he were to get sick again... Honestly, I don't even know how I'd react, let alone them." He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the already wild locks. "I know it's asking a lot, Draco, but James and Teddy are both ten. They'll be at Hogwarts next year."

The blonde wondered what he meant by that, wanting to ask how Harry would react if Scorpius fell sick again. Heart pounding achingly in his chest, Draco traced light patterns against Harry's scalp, still laying contently against his chest. He sat for a few minutes, allowing Harry to fidget nervously as he collected his own thoughts, images sweeping in and out of his mind. Four healthy boys, him and Harry married...

"I'd never leave," he murmured. "If he got sick again, I mean. I would still do everything I could to make him better again. The same with any of those boys." Harry sighed, closing his eyes. "I know what it's like to be an orphan, Draco, to end up in a house where you're more of a burden than anything. I don't want James and Al to suffer that, not if I can help them."

He continued to stay silent, gently tracing the curve of Harry's lips, his chin, the rounded bridge of his nose, with the soft pad of his fingertip.

"And then James has grey eyes like yours and he was so worried about his brother... They just can't be split up, Draco. I know it's a lot to ask, especially since you haven't met either of them. But I just... They need someone."

Leaning down, Draco nipped lightly at Harry's lips. "We'll need to go to Diagon Alley immediately, as well as have Kreacher clean out three rooms as we'll move Scorpius up their since I assume James and Al will want to stay in the same room and Scorpius will want to be closer to them, and Teddy can be up there as well, or take Scorpius's old isolation room." The words sent a small shudder through his spine, his fingers pausing for a mere moment before they continued their course through unkempt brown locks.

"We'll need to talk to Granger to see what Al will need to be moved to Grimmauld," his fingers slowly combed through Harry's hair as he nicked off the small list in his head, his expression one of complete seriousness, humor dancing in his eyes. Harry was just too adorable, if you let him squirm long enough. "And we will need to contact the Ministry and get papers, I assume that Weasley can accomplish that, and find out if there is any background on the boys that we will need to know; allergies, schooling, living situations, et cetera."

Harry stared, eyes going wide. He gripped Draco's shirt. "You... You're really okay with this...?"

Draco traced a finger against Harry's cheek. "I never said I wasn't, did I?" A small smile curved at the end of his lips.

"No, but... Godric, you irritating Slytherin." He pressed his lips to the blonde's, pressing as close to him as was possible.

Leaning down, Harry's head framed by Draco's lithely muscled arms, Draco smirked quietly. "You married me, so you're stuck." Their eyes met, and Draco leaned down to press their lips together in a small seal of approval at their choices, or at his own personal choices. Four sons. Bloody hell.

"We should... You should probably meet them. Hopefully, Al'll be up."

"I think I'm allowed to spend a few minutes kissing my husband, actually. I did just agree to adopt three children, did I not?" Draco's eyebrows raised, his eyes dancing with contented pleasure.

"That you did. And for the record, you're allowed to kiss your husband whenever you like." Harry smiled, fingers sliding into Draco's hair. "I love you."

A small smile slowly slid across Draco's lips, widening to the point of hilarity as laughter bubbled in Draco's chest. "I love you too, Harry."

"You'd better." Harry grinned, a hand sliding down, fingers brushing the mark their bond had left. "This one's permanent."

Rolling his eyes, Draco gave a small laugh. "The last one was supposed to be too," his eyes drifted down to his arm, glancing at the brown coloured mark with a small sense of joy. "But I kind of like this one, to be honest."

"It fits better than the last one." Harry nuzzled into Draco's neck, pressing warm, open-mouthed kisses to the skin. "It fits our family."

"Well Potters normally do have a certain amount of flair, I'll give them that." Draco leaned down, sealing their lips together, tongue coming out to trace lightly against Harry's lips as his eyes fell closed.

Harry met Draco's tongue with his own, hands sliding into the soft blonde locks, love pounding in his heart. He had a family, a big bloody family if everything worked out, but still. He had a family.

Finally feeling as if life might suddenly have a chance to be stable; no more crazy now-ex wives, no more psychotic ex-boyfriends, no wayward spells and poisoned owls, no more shitty Healers and sick kids... Just him, his husband Harry, and their sons, Scorpius, Al, James and Teddy.

Mumbling against his lips, Draco gave a loving, contented sigh. "I just want you to know. I refuse to let my kids turn out like the Weasley's."

"What, ginger?" His lips twitched. "I think we've already dodged that."

Draco shook his head, leaning down and pressing his lips to Harry's once more, body pressing perfectly against the others, the Slytherin content to spend the rest of the day kissing the stupid, albeit humorous, Gryffindor replies out of his husband.

"And thank Merlin for that. I think I've handled enough Weasley drama to last me a lifetime."


	22. An Apple A Day & The End

Chapter 22

_ An Apple A Day & The End _

[Original Work](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234163/1/Wingardium-Leviosa)

A quiet, snowing morning found Grimmuald place silent. The sun, barely beginning to peak its bright morning rays through the clouds, the birds who didn't fly away were silent in their nests, the snow drifted merrily outside, swirling in beautiful breezes of mystic white, coating the trees and the ground in soft, fluffy layers of ice-cold snow.

Inside the house, all was well, calm, quiet and warm. Bodies slept snugly in their beds, covered by Quidditch themed quilts and Hogwarts colours of yellows and blacks, burgundies and golds, silvers and bronzes, greens and blues. Creaking walls from the wind whipping outside, warm fires crackling in their hearths, Kreacher silently cleaning in the hallways... All was well.

Further in Grimmauld Place, higher up the stairs, two bodies lay pressed together, legs entangled, arms wrapped firmly around the other body beside them, hair disheveled and skin pleasantly naked from the waist up. Brunette and blonde hair was splayed along dark, silk pillows, pale and tan skin a shocking contrast of the two, and the rings glinting along their fingers let anyone know that this wasn't an ordinary relationship.

In Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, there were three things that happened on a daily basis. One, apples were always in demand. Two, something was always broken. Whether it be a priceless vase, a dinner plate, or a window due to too many Quaffles being thrown indoors, something always need a quick Reparo charm in the Potter-Malfoy household. And, three, Harry James Potter, and Draco Lucius Potter-Malfoy could never get a moment to themselves unless their room was Auror-grade warded.

A few feet away, across the warm, dimly lit bedroom, a door creaked open with the barest of noises, padded feet shuffling slowly into the room. Blankets were tugged against their waists and small indignant huffs were sputtered from lips. A dull thud, an item landing heavily on the bed as the figure finally crawled over the edge.

Scorpius Potter-Malfoy now a bright six year old, was as healthy as the day he was born. Bright eyes, shining skin, clean teeth, he was already getting taller and taller, smarter and smarter by the day. His parents had no idea what Hogwarts house he was going to be placed in, they were sure of that.

"Papa? Daddy?" Harry's body shook back and forth, barely moving as a voice spoke up quietly in the early morning light of the bedroom, casting a warm glow on a snitch-covered onesie and a unicorn plushie clutched in small arms.

Harry made a muffled grunt in response, nestling a little closer to his husband.

Another small shake to his bare shoulder, a light giggle, and a heavy weight settled on Harry's waist. "Papa!" A voice whispered, trying to catch Harry's attention.

It was like a cannon blast to his tired mind. He and Draco had been up half the night wrapping last minute things - because he'd ignored Draco's "you have a wand" - and had eventually convinced Draco to set his aside as well. The Muggle way had been more fun and would make it more worthwhile when each gift was torn open with abandon.

He was now regretting that decision, thanks to the early morning wake-up call. A single green eye opened, focused on the blurry little figure sitting above him on his chest. "I'm up," he mumbled.

Rolling over, there was a dull thud as Scorpius Potter-Malfoy plopped himself happily, contently, between his parents, too happy in the early hours of the cold, winter morning. Draco roused slowly from his sleep.

"Papa! Daddy! S'Christmas! Fami'y! Fami'y!" Perry was clutched tightly to the little boy's chest.

"We've been invaded," Harry muttered, gazing blearily at his husband. He wondered if this was what all parents went through on a Christmas morning. He highly doubted Ron and Hermione were suffering like this with their baby girl - Hermione had, much to his amusement and her continuing chagrin, gone into an early labor when he'd announced that they'd be taking on all four boys and moving into Grimmauld Place permanently. Then again, they did have Hugo. Did all children act like this...? Maybe he'd ask when they were all over from the Burrow later.

Yawning, Harry slung an arm over Scorpius, his hand resting on Draco's back. "Happy Christmas, kiddo."

Scorpius giggled quietly as Harry seemed to drift back off to sleep. Shuffling down, he curled up against Harry's chest, placing a warm, sloppy kiss against his cheek. "Love you Papa."

Cracking a hazy silver eye open, Draco smiled at the sight. A few months ago - Merlin, had it not even been half a year? - Draco would wake up to a cold bed and a quiet, sickly child and now... Merlin... now... Now he woke up to warm, muscled arms wrapped securely around his shoulders, and tempting green eyes, such a different shade from the green he was plagued with throughout his remaining few Hogwarts years and sloppy kisses accompanied by bright silver-blue eyes from their son.

A lazy hand swept through soft blonde hair, though Harry's eyes remained shut. He decided that he'd open them again only when he absolutely had to. "Love you too, Scorp," he mumbled.

Draco gave a small sigh, a content smile curling against his lips.

And then, aside from his brand new husband, there was Scorpius. A little boy, befallen by illness, now strong and healthy, and as active as his rowdy father; always running around and getting in trouble and creating mischief, he was the light of his life and brought so many smiles to his face on a bad day. "We both love you Scorpius," he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the warm, smooth skin of his son's forehead and lifted his gaze, head coming back down to rest against his pillow. Silver eyes swept greedily over the head of their son at the disheveled brunette father barely an arms length away.

There was an excited shout and another body landed on the bed. Harry turned his face into the pillow, vaguely hoping to suffocate, as Teddy crawled over them and settled himself by Scorpius. "It's Christmas! Why are you still in bed?" He sounded shocked, flabbergasted, as if there was no answer for why the two adult parents would be in bed at such an early hour. On Christmas.

There was a pregnant pause, Draco's body shaking with silent laughter. His body jolted up as the door slammed open loudly, shaking the portraits against the wall as two figures barrelled into the room. "Daddy! Papa!- Haaarry!" The last two boys of the Potter-Malfoy clan tackled their blonde father, Draco laughing as bright grey eyes and warm eyes of bright, child-wide blue gazed down at him. "Dray'o! Dray'o! Wake up!" Albus Severus Potter-Malfoy giggled loudly, his cauldron covered pajamas a bright, green wake up call to Draco's eyes as was the gaudy brown Centaur clutched tightly in his grasp. "Albus, no shouting." His arm looped around the boy's waist.

"No breathing," Harry added. "It can't really be morning already, can it?" But with all four children in bed, there was no denying it. Clearly it was time for breakfast and presents. He rolled over, passed a hand through Teddy's green and red hair affectionately.

The boy grinned. "It is morning, Uncle Har-!"

James quickly lunged from the edge of the bed to tackle Teddy, laughing loudly in the early morning silence.

Teddy laughed as well, tumbling over the blankets with the boy he already considered a brother. He considered all of them brothers, though he didn't share their name. They'd kept Lupin and, while he didn't understand why, Harry had assured him that he would when he was older. And it wasn't like they loved him any less. He just figured it meant he had a huge family now and that, to him, was the best thing ever.

James and Teddy fell off the side of the bed, Albus and Scorpius giggling behind their plush toys as the two rolled around with rambunctious abandon. With a small, petulant sigh, Draco Potter-Malfoy sat up with a quiet laugh, glancing over the bed at his two oldest, crazy sons. "Be careful you two."

"Lost cause, love." Harry sat up, stretching, and snatched Al into his lap, tickling him breathless. They never had exactly found out what had happened to their parents and Harry suspected that they never would. All Ministry investigators had been able to dig up was that the boys' parents had been experimenting with some potion while the boys played in the room. An explosion had largely wiped their memories and there were some things even magic couldn't fix. All Al knew was his brother and the name that had been on a singed Chocolate Frog Card James had carried around.

Draco glanced with a curve of his lips as Scorpius crawled into Harry's lap to accompany is other "bro'fer."

"I know, Harry." Leaning forward, he titled his head and pressed a soft kiss to Harry's deliciously red lips. Scorpius and Albus giggled quietly. It still shocked Draco that, after Harry had told him, they had pretty much ended up with perfect, healthy children, and Harry had gotten his wish of having a James and Albus Severus. The Ministry, at first, was rather stingy on letting the two adopt the boys, Boy Who Lived or not, who would let a Death Eater adopt children? But, after a few choice words, James and the newly named Albus Severus, still happily nicknamed 'Al' had flooed home with the two Wizards, and well... By Merlin's magical beard, here they were.

James and Teddy climbed back up over the edge of the bed, falling, breathless, against Draco's legs.

"Presents," Teddy panted.

"Breakfast," Harry corrected and ignored the whines. "Now up." He lifted Scorpius enough to place a smacking kiss on his cheek, did the same for Al since little arms reached up towards him. "Brush your teeth and all that." More whining was ignored. "And we'll see you downstairs soon."

Slowly, the whines died down, and little bodies ambled over the bed with hugs and 'good mornings' murmured to their parents.

Draco fell back against the bed with a groan, an arm coming to cover over his eyes as the door to their bedroom fell shut with an audible click.

"No laying down. If you do, I will and then we'll have them back in here in ten minutes jumping on us again." But he only cupped Draco's cheek and lowered his lips to meet his, the simple kiss creating as much sizzle as that first one had. Only a few months had passed, but Harry was loving every chaotic moment of fatherhood and married life. His life felt full and he was ready to give their boys the kind of Christmas he hadn't experienced before the age of eleven.

Draco leaned up, sealing their lips, his thoughts slowly traveling down the same path as his husband's. This was the family experience he craved as a child, this wholesome, fulfilling love, waking up to warm hello's and soft kisses, quiet glances and loud, obnoxious days that just made you want to bash your head against a wall or stick it in a boiling cauldron (Four rambunctious children could do that to a wizard.) But, as he let his thoughts slowly drift through the past, he was so glad he had it...

"Malfoy?"

"P-Potter?"

Draco's hands came up to rest firmly against Harry's cheeks, silvers eyes warm, smouldering in the warm winter sun that peaked through their windows. "I'm so fucking glad you walked past that park that day, Harry."

"I'm happy about it every single day even when the lot of them are maddening." Harry rested his brow against Draco's, gazing into his eyes for a moment, lips curved by contentment.

"Merry Christmas, love."

"Happy Christmas, darling." He pressed his lips to Draco's a final time before leaning back. "Now I'm bloody starved. Let's go see about breakfast."

Draco's arms snaked around his waist, a smirk pushing at a corner of his kiss-swollen lips as his heart gave a particularly hard thud in his chest. "I think I know exactly what I want for breakfast, thank you."

Harry grinned, tracing a finger over those lips. "Really?"

Pulling Harry back down towards the bed and over his body, Draco smirked, his heart stuttering in his chest. Sharp silver eyes bore into eyes of brilliant green and Draco pulled his bottom lip slowly between his teeth, tongue coming up to lightly play with the finger resting against his lips. "Really."

Gazing at him, the brunette's body responded. He very much knew what he wanted for breakfast as well, but they couldn't yet. The kids wanted a Christmas morning and he wanted to give it to them. "Later." He lowered his mouth back down, his fingers sliding into blonde hair. "When they're all passed out from a sugar crash."

"Mm," Draco's tongue slowly came out to trace along Harry's lower lip. "You owe me, dearest husband of mine," he whispered lowly, fingers tracing over defined muscles and smooth, sun-kissed skin.

"It is Christmas, isn't it? You'll be getting plenty of presents." He nipped Draco's earlobe. "And none of them are beneath the tree."

His arms snaked around Harry's neck, his heart still pounding in his chest, body still just as sensitive as the first time they had laid in bed together, the first time they had sex, made love. "What will I be getting, Mr. Potter-Malfoy?" Draco purred quietly, head tilting to the side to reveal an odd shaped scar at the junction of his shoulder and neck. Harry stood true to his word those few months ago, he never let that particular hickey heal.

Harry licked it now, knowing a sharp nip would drive them both mad. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. I can tell you you'll enjoy them, though."

Draco pulled away with a strangled moan as a few choice words barrelled through their door. "Looks like we are being summoned, dearest husband."

"Warned you." And now he did nip, sharply enough to entice, lightly enough to promise, before rolling away and getting to his feet.

Draco racked his eyes over his husband's body, giving a tortured moan. "Bloody fuck Potter, why didn't you look that fit under your damned Hogwarts robes?"

He flicked an amused glance over his shoulder, couldn't see a damn thing so he went to snag his glasses off the nightstand. "You don't think enough sex happens at Hogwarts without those robes being appealing?"

"Merlin Potter, if knew you had those damned delicious muscles under those robes, I would of stopped those petulant fights second year and resorted to shagging you senseless." Draco slowly sat up, the sheet falling away to reveal plain blue pajama bottoms as Draco swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, accioing Harry's glasses and waving them slightly. "Over here, Golden Boy."

"That's bloody cheating." But he was grinning as he blindly made his way around the bed to get to him. "Hand them over, Malfoy."

An arm looped securely around Harry's waist, tugging the shorter male up firmly against his body. "What do I get in return?" He held his arm out of the others reach, waggling the glasses in what he thought was a tempting manner. No point in letting his husband know that the blonde was practically wrapped around his ring finger.

He was an Auror. He could have Draco pinned and his glasses on his nose in two quick moves. Instead, he snaked a hand into Draco's hair and fused their lips together, pressing their bodies snugly together. In moments, the blonde was yielding, his arm lowering. Harry plucked his glasses away and broke off the kiss, glasses securely on. "A lot more of that."

With a roll of pewter coloured eyes, Draco consented with a huff. "You allow me to have no fun. Horrible husband." Draco turned to the same nightstand to grab his wand and slip it through the waistband of his pants with a little slip of skin.

"I'll let you have your fun when our boys have their Christmas." His own eyes gleamed with excitement, his grin matched. "It's our first Christmas as a family, Draco."

Draco turned with a small, pleasant sigh, his body warming at the words as he approached the few feet between their bodies and pressed himself firmly against his lovers. "I know. Can't wait." He looped his arms around Harry's waist, leaning down to seal their lips in one last, good morning kiss, pouring any of his waring feelings inside his body into that sweet press of lips, his release.

Harry answered the kiss, fingers stroking through the soft blonde hair, his lips moving warmly over the other's. "Let's go, then. We're going to have a hell of a mess to clean up when they're done."

"Are you a wizard?" Draco chuckled quietly, pulling away and walking towards the door, ignoring the lingering ache in his body, the want curling in his stomach to just curl up himself, with Harry pressed against his chest in their nice, warm bed. "You have magic, Potter. Ever heard of it?"

"But what's the fun in that? They're not using magic to tear their gifts open. And we didn't use it to wrap them, either." He followed his husband out, taking his hand and entwining their fingers in a gesture that had become as natural as breathing.

The door to their bedroom closed quietly behind them, Kreacher ambling around with an overly large duster, muttered small words to himself as Draco and Harry quietly shuffled down the stairs, reaching the parlor in a few moments. Draco brought Harry's hands to his lips. "The less time spent cleaning, the more time for... More useful activities."

"Draco, you're probably the only person I've ever heard call sex a useful activity." He grinned, squeezing Draco's hands. "I love you, you git."

Draco squeezed back with a raised eyebrow and an annoyingly snarky smirk. "And who said I was talking about sex?" Turning on his heel, Draco's hand slipped from between Harry's and he was down the hall. "Hurry up, dear husband! I'm not scraping you off the floor if you get trampled by the overly anxious sons of ours!"

"You bloody prat," Harry laughed, following quickly, and laughed more still when he went through the parlor and saw four curious boys poking at the boxes beneath the big tree he'd convinced Draco to chop down despite "There are perfectly good trees in stores" protestations. The blonde hadn't forgiven him for the blisters in his Potion-perfect hands for a week. That forgiving trifle was how Harry had discovered Draco's particular love for certain... activities with fine wine.

"Okay, boys," Draco chuckled as happy pleas of "Daddy!" and "Papa!" rang throughout the living room as snow swirled around outside. Draco approached the couch and sat down, legs curling up under him in a relaxed gesture. "Take one present each and just give a quick mutter from who they are from then have at them, okay? Merlin knows none of you will remember to send thank yous." The last bit was mumbled with a content roll of warm, silver eyes.

Harry dropped down onto the arm of the couch, an arm slung around his husband's shoulders, fingers teasing the hair at the nape of his neck. Breakfast, he supposed, could wait. He was as eager to see their expressions as they were to open the things. He knew very well that he'd driven Draco absolutely mad the past month, though Draco thought otherwise, searching for the perfect gifts. Draco was all the more happy to go on feet-aching, eye-blinding hours of shopping with his lover if it meant that he got to see that beautiful, breathtaking smile that Harry bestowed upon him when they found the perfect gift, Prophet photos be damned. He laced their fingers together with a small thought. Damn. He was so lucky.

"Well go on," he chuckled. "Open them."

The kids tore into the presents instantly.

For the next hour there were squeals, fumbling fingers on boxes, cry upon cry of "Look at this!" Envy was fleeting, each boy focused on the next gift in their pile. Harry watched the wrapping paper pile mount and for the first time considered the idea that maybe he'd gone a little overboard. But he'd often gotten socks or Dudley's over-sized hand-me-downs himself; he supposed it was natural. Besides, the laughter was worth it. He slid down, snuggling comfortably at Draco's side and held his husband's hand tightly.

Presents soon began to pile up, Draco taking note last night as they were being placed under the tree of who they were from. A few presents from Blaise, an array of clothing from Pansy, presents from all across the globe from a few Weasleys; Ronald (Signed from Hermione and Hugo, as well), George (he confiscated those immediately) Charles, William and their parents. There were also a few oddly shaped presents from Neville and Luna. The kids tore into them happily, and when they were done, the wrappings were swept to the side as they focused on the next step of their morning. Opening the presents.

Harry dropped his head on Draco's shoulder with a happy sigh as Al and Scorpius put their heads together to attempt to figure out the workings of the toy dragon they'd each received from Charlie. Teddy's nose, to James's utter delight, turned red as he played with a red-nosed reindeer, crashing it very carefully into the pygmy puff James had received causing it to roll around with a squeak. It was from Luna, though, so Harry knew it probably wasn't an ordinary pygmy puff. He'd neglected to share that with Draco, deciding to quietly hope it didn't eat them in their sleep.

Draco watched on quietly, fingers stroking rhythmically through Harry's sleep tangled hair. "So this is what family is like..." Draco murmured quietly to himself, not intending to let anyone overhear.

Harry heard anyway, having been listening for his husband's voice. "This is what our family's like. I love it."

Draco blinked warm silver eyes down at Harry's, heart warming in his chest. "Yes. I suppose." He leaned down, lips pressing gently against Harry's forehead. "I love you."

He grinned, more happy than he'd ever been in his life. "I love you too."

"Okay, you lot." Draco chuckled after placing another swift kiss against Harry's hair. "Breakfast, then you can continue to play for a little bit. But remember-" he narrowed his eyes playfully at his sons who watched on with waning attention- "dinner tonight. Dress nicely. No ifs, ands or buts." They snorted in amusement. He raised his eyebrow.

They were all learning what The Eyebrow meant, so took the cue from Scorpius and made grumbling agreements.

Harry laughed, getting to his feet. "Luckily, that's hours away. Breakfast," he announced and renewed squeals followed, the four boys running for the kitchen with pajama covered feet. Harry turned and offered his hand, grin as childishly excited as their sons. "Come on, love."

With a roll of his eyes, Draco clasped their hands and stood, pulling Harry closer to him for a deep, soul-searching kiss. "Bloody Merlin, I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Draco." He held on tight, clinging for a moment. "We have one hell of a family, don't we?"

Draco nodded as he turned and walked his husband and him into the kitchen. Chuckling, their kids were all sitting, chatting amicably around the table, toys scattering around the floor as Kreacher placed breakfast in front of each kid. "Eat slowly, okay?" He patted Scorpius hair, sitting down across from their kids and gratefully accepted a steaming cuppa from Kreacher and this mornings Prophet.

Harry sat down beside him after a moment, and after sharing another quiet kiss, they let the morning settle in merriment.

-

Hours slowly passed, the kids happily playing with their toys, barely leaving the living room as joyous shouts of laughter were heard through the house.

As evening approached and night fell, dinner came and went within the Potter-Malfoy household. True to the big family, Harry had suggested a dinner, a family dinner, to his husband nearly a month ago, and after begrudgingly agreeing, Harry had promised to plan it all. Neville and Luna, Blaise and Pansy, the whole Weasley clan sans his ex and Percy, the house filled with warmth, tantalizing smells, loud rings of laughter and love. Lots and lots of love. "Bloody Hufflepuffs," were muttered on more than one occasion from a select few. And, as the hours died down, presents were opened, children fell asleep against each other and parents began picking them up and giving small nods of thank yous and left in a flash of green flame.

Bill and Charlie slowly approached, Bill's arm tucked around Fleur's waist, his hand resting against Fleur's barely-there baby bump. "You two have an amazing family," he nodded at Harry and Draco and glanced around the messy living room at their sleeping children.

"I agree," Charlie chuckled, giving them each a quick hug, Draco flustering awkwardly.

"Thank you, Charles." Draco gave a small nod as the other left in a swirl of green flames and a call of "You know how to pick 'em Harry!"

Bill and Fleur left soon after with quiet hugs and small mutters of "We will visit again soon," and they were gone with another swish of green flames.

Hermione shuffled over slowly not too long after, Rose cradled in her arms. "Oh, it's so nice to see the pair of you so happy." She gave Harry a one-armed hug, both mindful of the baby. "Everyone had a wonderful time." She gave Draco the same hug, giving him an extra squeeze because he'd very smoothly stopped Pansy from making some passing rude comments about her. She appreciated it just as she appreciated all that he'd done for Harry. "You're better for him than I thought you would be," she whispered. "Thank you for that."

Draco ducked his head in a slight blush, hugging her back gently. "Thank you, Hermione. I try."

"I know you do. He's always deserved someone who would." She drew back and ignored Harry's curious look. "Happy Christmas. Ron, are you ready?"

He was dragging his chocolate-smeared son away from Scorpius. They'd dropped off almost simultaneously, it seemed, heads bent together over the miniature Quidditch game Hugo had gotten from the Potter-Malfoys. Now they were leaning against one another, Hugo clinging to the other boy as he would the stuffed animal he claimed he was too old for... even as he clutched the little chimera plush for all he was worth. Smiling, Ron swept up the still-moving players and tucked everything away in a box with a couple of wand flicks before carefully tilting Scorpius onto Teddy and pulling Hugo up and into his arms.

Draco chuckled quietly, taking a few cautious steps towards the couch and leaning down to pick Scorpius up into his arms. The little boy mumbled quietly, tucking his head against Draco's neck and drifting back off to sleep. Draco walked back towards the hearth, giving a small, quiet nod to Ron as the red-head shifted Hugo carefully in his arms. "Weasley. Thank you for coming."

Ron returned the nod, added a small shrug. "It's not like you make it difficult," he said quietly, mindful of his sleeping son. "Merry Christmas and the like. Our house for New Year's still?"

Harry grinned. "Absolutely. We'll be 'round."

With a small grin, Hermione wrapped an arm tightly around Harry once more, giving him and quick squeeze and a warm nod to Draco, and she swished away in a swirl of green flames, Ron not to far behind with a small utterance of a 'Happy Christmas' and a 'See you at work, Harry.' and he was gone, leaving the Potter-Malfoys to their home, and their sleeping children.

Harry reached out, fingers lacing with his husband's. It had been an exhausting day, but energy still crackled around him. "That was fun." His smile was turned on the sleeping boys - James half-on, half-off the couch, Albus on the floor, his head on Teddy's lap, and Teddy leaned back against the couch, head having fallen back and tucked near James's. And then they to went back to his first baby boy, Scorpius, held by Draco. "That was a lot of fun."

Draco pressed a kiss to his son's forehead. "It was. But I'm glad it is only once a year, and that the boy's birthdays are all in the summer." Or near enough. James was, they found out, born in June, Albus a few days before Scorpius in September and Teddy was in April. That left a few months to relax before the.. hecticness of Christmas fell upon the Potter-Malfoy household. At least Kreacher took it well.

"It'd be exhausting otherwise." Harry went over to the other three, gently shuffling Al off Teddy's lap and into his arms. "Let's put these two to bed." And they'd deal with the other two after since Harry didn't want to wake any of them. He still had to give Draco his gifts and, well, maybe one was under the tree. Hidden, of course, but there.

Draco nodded, thinking of his own gift that was tucked way behind a few moving portraits on the mantle piece, hidden from view. "Yeah, Scorpius isn't getting any lighter." He shifted the boy in his arms before taking off down the hallway.

"If anything, he's just getting heavier." They'd had to buy him new shoes the week before, despite the upcoming holiday. His had just been too small.

Draco chuckled, slowly climbing the stairs, stepping over the fourth one to avoid the annoying creak that would no doubt wake his son. "Malfoys don't get heavier, Potter. They just fill out into their forms, and Scorpius is still growing."

"I have little doubt that you're heavier now than you were when you were five." He ducked into the room Al still shared with James. "I know I am."

"Six," Draco corrected, his smirk widened as he walked farther down the hall and glanced down at his son. " And I can attest to that."

"Your daddy's a git," he murmured to the sleeping boy in his arms before tugging the blankets down and settling him in. He stirred a little, reaching out. He had nightmares sometimes, he and James both did, so Harry held his hand and murmured soothing things until he relaxed again. "Merry Christmas, kid. Love you." He tucked the child in, smiling, and went out quietly to get Teddy.

Albus rolled over, curling up tightly and drifting off back to sleep. "Love... you too..."

Draco leaned over, gently laying Scorpius down against bright blue sheets. "Da... ddy?" The little boy woke up slowly, ice blue eyes revealed behind drooping lids. Draco chuckled softly, slowly moving to drag the checked quilt up and over his son's shoulders, kneeling down to press a soft kiss to his forehead and press Perry into his arms. "Yes Scorpius?"

"S'family now?" Was the mumbled reply after a few, quiet moments.

Do you know wh-what you're getting into?

I... I'm getting a hell of a man and his adorable son. And all that pesky baggage their carrying, but I have some of my own. I think that's an even deal.

"Yes, Scorpius," Draco answered after a minute or so, lifting a hand to gently run it through dark strands of blonde hair. "We're a family now."

"S'family... Love..." The little boy's head began to nod to the side, his eyes drifting closed just a little bit more, his body sagging under the covers to allow sleep to claim him peacefully. "Fam...'ly..."

"And family loves you too, Scorpius." Another soft kiss to his son's forehead and a warm beat to his heart, Draco stood. For now, he had other family to worry about so he left quietly to let his- their son sleep peacefully. Scorpius had so many people that loved him.

-

A few minutes later had Teddy and James tucked in their beds with contented smiles, and tired cheers of a wonderful, perfectly fun Christmas. A few moments later found two husbands collapsing into bed, half naked with sleeping pants secured around their hips and their lover in their arms.

"Tired," Draco groaned into his pillow, inhaling the smell of cinnamon and evergreens drifting into his lungs. Harry.

Harry snuggled comfortably close, inhaling the lavender and vanilla combination he'd become so accustomed to. "Mm... Yeah. S'a good tired."

Turning his body and wrapping an arm firmly around Harry's waist, Draco dragged him closer, occasionally pressing light kisses over his lover's face and neck. "An amazing tired."

Laughing softly, Harry tilted his head to capture Draco's lips. "Yeah."

Draco lifted himself from the bed, resting his body against his elbow as he used his hand around Harry's waist to push him flat on his back, lifting himself further to loom over his husband's body and tilted his head to press their lips together softly. "Now, I believe my loving husband owes me a few presents for dragging my perfect arse out of bed at an unseemly hour?"

Harry slid his hands down Draco's back, giving said arse a teasing squeeze. "You're so modest."

Draco chuckled, tilting his head to nip lightly at Harry's lower lip. "Mm, I don't have to be modest, Potter. I married the Boy-Who-Lived." Kicking a leg over Harry's waist and lowering himself to straddle his husband comfortably, Draco felt, more than thought about, his old Malfoy smirk pushing at the corners of his lips. "I can be as immodest as I want."

"Congratulations." Grinning, Harry flipped and pinned him. He rose over Draco, a hand splayed over his chest. "Lightweight."

A small chuckle vibrated against Harry's hand. "You should know." Lifting a leg to link it around Harry's waist, he dragged his husband down, sealing their lips together with a soft moan.

"I do know," Harry murmured, nipping along Draco's jawline and down to the mark on his neck. "Mm... You may have a present under the tree you missed."

Draco raised an eyebrow, tilting his head, breath hot against Harry's ear as he whispered lowly. "Oh really, love? And do you really want me to leave right now to get it?" Draco nipped at Harry's ear.

"No, I'm busy right now. Just letting you know. As long as you get it before midnight."

Draco raised an eyebrow, casting a quick Tempus charm behind Harry's head, releasing a hiss, a small moan, as his husband nipped down harshly against his scar. "That's only a quarter of an hour away, love." Pulling away albeit reluctantly, Draco sat up, straddling his husband's waist and carting a hand through Harry's disheveled locks. "A quick accio then?"

"Yeah. Now that I have you back in bed, I don't plan on letting you leave it the rest of the night." Though they both knew from experience that if one of the boy's fussed, Harry would be the first to go see why. He cast the summoning spell quietly, mouth full of his love's pale skin.

Accompanying his love's idea, Draco cast a quick accio, shuddering at the magic that tingled against his fingertips. Leaning back down, Draco sealed their lips, never getting enough of the warmth, the perfect feel of Harry's lips moving against his own.

"You got me something?" Harry wondered, question muffled against Draco's mouth.

Draco rolled his eyes, hand coming out to grasp at the present that floated near his head, giving a harsh nip to Harry's lips. "No, I didn't get my husband a gift for his first Christmas with his own family. I'm just that rude."

Harry smiled, but there was the shy surprise in his eyes that was always there when anyone got him things. "Can I open it?"

Sitting back against Harry's waist, Draco chuckled quietly. He knew what the quiet, shocked surprise in those eyes meant. Casting an engorgio charm on the present he had shrunk to hide, Draco held out the present with a hilarious flourish, holding out the present, wrapped in dark blue paper topped with an obnoxious green and silver bow towards his husband. He chuckled, the sound almost a whisper against his lips, his heart thundering in his chest, blood rushing in his ears. Would Harry like it...?

"Scorpius picked the bow..."

With a laugh, Harry plucked the bow from the paper and settled it right in Draco's hair. "It suits," he teased and leaned up to press a fond kiss to Draco's lips before going at the wrapping paper. Halfway through, he nudged Draco off him so he could sit up beside him and finish unwrapping. He blinked when he saw the photo album and he trailed his finger over the brown, leather cover, a gold border sewn in around the edges. He thought of the one Hagrid had given him years before, falling apart from how often Harry would open it, and beamed at Draco. He'd needed a new one.

Draco nodded down at the cover, moving to sit against the pillows at the headboard of the bed, waving a hand simply to let him know to open it. When Harry did, his breath caught. There were his parents, waving at him. He smiled at the old picture, looking up at Draco with loving eyes, and he began to flip through. He could hardly believe the Slytherin had taken the time to move all of his old pictures and...

There were new ones. Ones of Luna and her family, Neville and his, Ron and Hermione with Rose and Hugo. He laughed, watching Ron roll his eyes and tuck an arm around his waving wife. There were ones of him, too, he noted with a wry grin. Sneaky prat. And then his smile faded and his fingers trailed over the pictures of Draco holding his infant son. He'd glimpsed pictures of Scorpius as a baby when they'd been moving their things into Grimmauld Place, but never really had the time to truly look. "Draco," Harry murmured, "he was such a beautiful baby."

Draco lifted a hand to calmly, slowly stroke it through Harry's hair, tucking some behind his ear, breathing shallowly. "If only you could have been there for the birth. He is so much more your son than Astoria's. Literally, now."

Harry caught his hand, pressing his lips to the palm. "I love him as much as if I had been there," he assured him and flipped to the next page since there was still more. His fingers tightened on Draco's hand at the next few shots. His family. The four boys in the parlor undoubtedly playing some silly game, though they'd all looked up to grin and wave at the camera. There were a few of all six of them at the park, a couple at the Burrow, a few of Harry fighting off the notorious Malfoy cat, Severus. Scorpius's birthday, Halloween, and a whole two pages for their wedding. Who in Godric's name had taken that many photographs?

He let out a watery laugh, blinking rapidly as he looked at his husband. "This is amazing, Draco. Thank you."

Draco's smile was calm, understanding. "Think nothing of it." His whispers were quiet, feeling as if the emotions in the room were weighing down on him, causing him to speak cautiously, quietly. "You deserved something to encompass all that has changed in your life. You have a family now, more then ever I suppose." He leaned forward, eyes slipping closed to press their lips together chastely. "I had friends take them. Blaise, Pansy, a few were taken by Neville and the awkwardly tilted ones were from Luna. Rose even took the one of Scorpius and Hugo covered in chocolate. With Hermione's help of course. And there are a few pages to still be added."

"There's a lifetime of pages to be added," Harry murmured, carefully closing the album and running his fingers over the cover. He lifted his hand to Draco's cheek, sinking into a kiss. "I love you."

Draco kissed back softly, heart pounding loudly in the quietness of a sleeping house. "And I love you." Lifting a hand to cover the one on his cheek, Draco ran his thumb lightly over Harry's wedding ring. "Enough to last me more than a life time of pages."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying simply being close. "Yours now." He plucked the hovering box, newly visible, from the air. It was rather long, rectangular in shape, and wrapped in red and green paper.

Draco blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. "What the...?" It looked like... a wand box? Plucking the box from between Harry's fingers, he settled back against the pillows, relishing in the comfort of having the shorter male pressed against his side. "Can I open it? ...Or will it bite me?" The mark on the side of his neck tingled.

He smiled, pressing a kiss to his neck. "Of course you can open it."

Draco gave a cursory grin, bringing the present into is lap and sliding a finger over the shining wrapping paper for a moment before giving it a gentle tear. A few moments passed, the house oddly quiet aside from the sharp crackle of tearing wrapping paper as Draco slowly unraveled his present. He paused.

"Harry... Is this...?" Clasped in his palm was a nondescript roll of parchment. But, Draco knew from the small tear at the outer corner from when he was child, what it exactly was. He unravelled the papers slowly, heart catching in his throat, hand shaking slightly. "You..."

"It's fallen into some disrepair and some of the rooms have been hexed or have some nasty things in them, left by people sneaking in and such. Besides that, though, the House-Elves have all stayed and they've been ordered to start cleaning things out. Ron and I've spent a few days cleaning out a couple of Boggarts, which is the real reason why I've been late coming home lately." He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly nervous. "But I thought... I mean, I'll always keep this place for Sirius and one of the boys are bound to have a use for it when they get older, but I never really intended to live in it forever myself. But Malfoy Manor was where you grew up and it was Scorpius's first home. It's... it's been in your family forever, so..."

Draco turned to the side, tackling Harry in his arms, holding onto him tightly. "You... Y-You stupid, stupid Gryffindor!" His hands shook tightly around the document, the deed to Malfoy Manor, clenched tightly in his fist. "H-How could you-? I mean..." Ignoring the prickling of tears behind his eye, Draco tightened his bare arms around Harry's chest, face pressed against the warm skin of Harry's neck. "H-Harry... You... How did you do this? I mean..." He paused, trying to collect his racing thoughts. Malfoy Manor. He was in possession of Malfoy Manor... Scorpius could... "Astoria... She-"

"She's been living with her own family from what I gathered. Couldn't manage the entire house on her own and the House-Elves resisted her since, well, she wasn't a real Malfoy any longer. I got it back from her." He saw no reason to mention the arrest made or the other repossessions of Greengrass property. He'd spent quite a few months digging into their family businesses and had hit upon enough dirt to keep them buried a long while.

Long legs curled up against Draco's chest, the blonde hanging on for dear magical life to his husband's neck. "You- Harry-" To say the blonde was speechless would of been a true understatement. It took a lot to make the eldest Malfoy truly speechless and his husband had gone and did it point blank. The parchment crinkled in his hand as he pulled it from around Harry's neck and slowly slid it open. Tracing a finger lightly over the names of his ancestors, he paused. Where was... Astoria's name should of been right after his. Once Lucius had vanished (died, went to Azkaban, Draco refused to know) Draco's name had appeared below his father's as the new head of the Malfoy Manor, and once Astoria claimed it in their divorce... Her name should of been transferred below his... But... He ran his finger lower, pausing in shock.

'Sole Proprietor, Heir, Owner and Head of the Malfoy name,' he read slowly, finger trembling against the paper. 'Draco Lucius Malfoy-Potter and with signed consent, Harry James Potter-Malfoy.'

"Harry... This..." Astoria's name wasn't below his old name... Draco Lucius Malfoy. It was just... Them. "How did you... What did you do? Where is Astoria's name?" He was so gratefully, gratefully confused to know that the deed to his ancestor's home had remained in his name, but how?

"She's not a Malfoy," he said simply, stroking Draco's back gently. "It's kind of complicated, but it's secure."

Draco pulled away with a goofy smile stretching across his lips, sitting back against the edge of the bed. "You know what..." He gazed down at the paper. "It doesn't matter. It... doesn't matter. Astoria or not. I don't care." Turning his body, he reached for a quill and paused. Did it... Did the Malfoy name truly not matter after all these years? After not having any magic, forced to live as something akin to a mere Muggle, raising a dying child by himself... Did being a Malfoy truly matter? Did having such a large house that he didn't know what to do with all the rooms really matter? Draco paused for a moment, eyes glancing to the ring on his out stretched hand. No. No. It didn't matter. He had family, his family, and that is what mattered to him. Pulling away from the dresser, knowing there was a quill right on the inside of the drawer, ready with ink, he sat back on his haunches. He glanced at the middle of the bed, his heart stuttering in his chest as he gazed greedily upon his husband. "Do you want to live in Malfoy Manor?"

"It's part of your family; it's been in it for generations." Harry smiled, despite prickling nerves, reaching out to run his fingers through Draco's hair. "I don't want you to lose that and I don't Scorpius to either."

Lifting a hand to close it over Harry's, Draco's eyes slipped closed, tilting his head into the touch. "No, Harry, do you, my husband, want to live in Malfoy Manor? Don't focus on me, or Scorpius. Do you, James, Albus, and Teddy want to live in the manor?" His heart jumped in his chest.

"It's..." He pulled Draco close again. "I never wanted to live in Grimmauld permanently. You know that. It's not livable right now, but when it is I'd like to."

"So is that a yes, or a no Golden Boy?"

"It's a yes, Draco." Harry smiled slightly. "If, y'know, you want to make Malfoy Manor suitable for the Potter-Malfoys."

With a roll of pewter hued eyes, Draco leaned back, goosebumps raising against bare skin at the touch of a cool drawer knob to his slightly warm hand. "Well, it might take a little while and a bit of magic and a hippogriffs weight in galleons, but we can see what we can do." Pulling the drawer open, Draco grabbed for the plain white quill, lifting his body back over the edge of the bed and glancing down at the parchment in his lap. "...Are you sure?"

"Draco, it was a nightmare getting this place back." He leaned over, nipped the blonde's lip. "Sign the bloody deed."

Draco threw the deed across the bed, it slowly drifting down to fall against Harry's side. He waved a hand, heart pounding in his chest. "You first." Leaning forward, elbows resting on his folded legs, he threw a small grin in Harry's direction. "If I'm supposedly the wife in this marriage, I think the husband should sign all deeds first, don't you?" He leaned back to rest his hands against the edge of the bed and lean his weight on them. "Besides," he nipped at his lower lip, "Malfoy Manor isn't really mine anymore... Not really."

Harry took the quill, but toyed with it instead of signing. He'd been so sure before, particularly from the way Draco would mention it at odd moments. But now... "You do want it back, don't you?"

Leaning forward again, Draco pressed the tip of the quill against the parchment. "Of course I want it, you bloody Gryffindor." Tilting his head, his leaned further and whispered lightly against Harry's ear, shuddering at the closeness. "But the moment you sign first, it's no longer Malfoy Manor. It's whatever your last name is. Since I took your name, it'll no longer be a Malfoy estate. Everything will move to our children. The Potter-Malfoy bloodline."

Harry turned his head, brushing his lips over his husband's. "This is why you're the wife," he teased, scrawling his name. "You're smarter than I am when it comes to things like this."

Draco's answering smirk had Harry laughing lightly as the blonde plucked the quill from between his fingers and gave a quick sign to the parchment in his lap, under the messy scrawl of his husband. The parchment rolled up instantly and sealed itself with a deep, burgundy shaded ribbon. "Of course it has to be red."

Draco vanished the quill with a wave of his hand, the parchment floating over to the bedside table as the blonde straddled his husband with a quick movement and pushed him back against the pillows. "The only reason I will ever be considered the 'wife' in this marriage Potter," Draco leaned down to nip lightly at Harry's neck. "Is because I know how to control my husband to do what pleases me the most." His smirk widened as Harry gave a light groan, hands coming up to grab at his hips.

"You're very capable of that, yes." Harry's head fell back, hands sliding from his hips up his back and down. "Happy Christmas, love."

Draco followed Harry's head, sealing their lips together and pressing himself flush against his lover. "Happy Christmas, darling."

Not even six months ago, Draco Malfoy-Potter had felt as if his life was at a stand still. No hope for his son, no help from the world he had considered his home since the moment he was able to wave a wand, and no love from his remaining family member. Magic cast aside, shunned from a world he loved, Draco Malfoy-Potter stuck to the only thing he knew; perseverance. Trying his hardest to make a comfortable life for him and Scorpius, Draco persevered with the thought that his life would get better. He had burned and crashed enough during the war and after, that there had to be some semblance of hope, hadn't there? It all changed for him one day, one simple day of his son wanting to go to the park. How could Draco refuse? And a whirlwind of memories, blood, a lot of magic, torn Prophet photos, and a plethora of broken rules... Draco found himself exactly where he wanted to be. In the arms of Harry bloody Potter. Potter-Malfoy. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Four beautifully perfect sons, an amazing husband, a Manor no longer shunned by the spoiled Malfoy name, and a new life he couldn't wait to get started.

Harry didn't have breaks often, didn't like to take them...

He'd learned years ago not to heed the words of others. They were often biased, entirely incorrect, or just skewed enough to cause confusion.

-

Wingardium Leviosa.

The End.


End file.
